Most Overrated and Underrated Teams of 2010
by Ryan Alfieri on Jul 29, 2010 2:51 PM EDT
36 comments
First, in case you didn't notice, I am the artist formerly known as njdevil7. If you still want to refer to me as njdevil, go for it.
Every year, writers try to rank the teams before they ever play a single down, and ultimately, they are way off by the time the Super Bowl champ is crowned six months later. Honestly, how many people had the Saints as their number one team? Or the Cardinals two years ago?
For any fans of these teams: I don't think all of these teams are lousy or destined for greatness. I am just measuring up the expectations with what I believe their roster will produce.
The most Overrated Teams:
Baltimore Ravens: Now, I think the Ravens will be good. Just not automatic-superbowl-berth good. I don't like the secondary at all, Ed Reed would hide a lot of their shortcomings, and if he is out for an extended period, you can throw all over them. I expect their defense to finish among the top 12 or so, but not anything close to where they have been in the past. Sergio Kindle suffered a serious injury, and Mount Cody can't even practice because he is too fat. Yes, they can run the ball and they have a solid possession receiver in Anquan Boldin, but Baltimore is going to have to overcome some holes to get to where they want to be.
Tennessee Titans: I think Vince Young is the guy. Obviously CJ2K will have his way with defenses. What concerns me in Tennessee is the defense. Bullock was shipped to the Giants. They have a nice DT in Brown, but the Titans rely on a four-man pass rush, as they rarely blitz. They can hope Derrik Morgan is the next "Freak", but pass rushers take some time to develop. Plus, that division is as tough as they get.
Chicago Bears: This team is the single most desperate team in the league. GM Jerry Angelo knew that if he didn't deliver a playoff team this year, he and most of the coaches would be gone. Without a first round pick, they overspent for Julius Peppers and Chester Taylor. They didn't fix anything on the offensive line (unless you consider releasing Orlando Pace an upgrade), and are forcing a complicated, demanding offense from Mike Martz down Jay Cutler's throat. Martz's offense takes time to develop routes, and without decent protection, it all means nothing.
Underrated Teams, after the Jump:
Cincinnati Bengals: They will repeat in that division. They lost almost nobody, they made a lot of nice pickups, especially in their dormant passing game. Mike Zimmer is a great coordinator, and is probably up for a head coaching job as some point. They went 6-0 in a tough division last year. Explain to me why they can't beat the Ravens? The run the ball just as well, they have a better QB, more weapons, and a better defense. They will win the division again.
Detroit Lions: I have said i once and I will say it again: The Lions will finish ahead of the Bears in the NFC North. The added Nate Burelson, Tony Scheffler and Jahvid Best to an offense that already had Calvin Johnson. With Vandenbosch, Suh, and Williams, they have a nice D-Line. I wouldn't expect greatness, but I'm optimistic about Detroit.
NY Giants: The Giants problem last year was defense and running the ball. They hope to have Kenny Phillips back, alongside Antrel Rolle, to form one of the better safety tandems in the league. Getting Keith Bulluck was huge. I wouldn't be surprised if they stole this division from the Cowboys. They just need Brandon Jacobs to remember how to run the ball inside.
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Good post, do disagree with some of it though. I do agree with your Tenny, Detroit (especially), and NYG selections analysis!
Bears- I don’t see how this team is overrated? There is very little talk about them, and they’re coming in under the radar. How are they overrated when all the talk is about the Packers and Vikings? Guys have heard my thoughts in various articles on this one, so I won’t beat it to death.
LVSC opened their season win total at a flat 8, so I don’t see them having high expectations really.
Ravens – As much as I hate to say it, this team has almost as many toys to play with as we do. They’re loaded at every position now that they finally have a WR corps this year. This team has the potential to click on all cylinders, and I don’t see them falling short of winning 10 games and the division this year.
Bengals How are they underrated? They were a 10-game-winner and won their division last year?
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+1
Agree on the Bears. Everyone agrees they are the third best team in the NFC North. Have not heard better or worse on them so I don’t understand that one.
The Ravens are just as good as us imo.On defense our strength is CB’s and MLB. They have a great LB core and some star D lineman. "Joe Cool’ has a whole season on Mark S. We have similar teams so imo if they are over rated then so are we. They are both very good teams with extremely tough scheldules. So I think a lot of both of their success depends on help from oppoents.
Since the face been revealed the game got real
Matt, I agree with your take on the Bears and Ravens, but...
I’ve seen a lot of “experts” saying the Bengals are do for a big drop this year, and most not picking them to make the playoffs. That was before TO but I’m not sure if he helps or hurts, I certainly think they are one of the better teams in the AFC, and should make the playoffs.
One team I really think should be on the overrated list is the Chargers, every year they are picked to be great, and almost every year they fall short, if not collapse. They’ve lost LT, and Cro. who might not have played great last year, but will be missed. I just don’t think this team is ever going to do anything under Turner, they make the playoffs because of the weak division, but they will not win a game.
Keith Bulluck?
I dunno man, Keith Bulluck was hurt last year and he’s old, I really don’t think he’s going to have much of an impact at all.
Also, I believe he’ll be playing MLB for the first time?
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I've tried to email Revis, but it just shuts down my computer.
He played mlb at times in Tenn.
i think he will be more like A. Pierce,a signal caller. QB on D if u will.
Yeah… some of this is a stretch. Baltimore is rated right where they should be. They have amazing depth on the offensive line, a bunch of proven offensive weapons, a monstrous front seven and a couple of up-and-coming secondary players. Their biggest concern is getting healthy in the secondary. That will make all the difference for them.
The bears are also rated exactly where they should be. Nobody thinks they are going to win anything this year.
Tenny is a fine choice, but the team that I think is overrated is the Houston Texans. I think they’re as good as they are ever going to be. Especially defensively.
Not to take anything away from Cincy, because I do think they are pretty good, but if you watched those division games last year against the Steelers and Ravens, you know that they caught a few big breaks that they may not find again. They will have a tougher road to contention than they did last year, even if they did pick up a couple of shiny new toys.
Totally agree on the Lions. They will be serious contenders within a few years. They are fmaking smart draft and FA decisions.
Crazy as this sounds, I think the real underrated team in the NFC east right now is the Redskins. I think this is the year that all those crazy decisions by their owner results in a push for the playoffs. I think that division will be won by the Cowboys with authority, and the other three teams will spend the season beating each other into identical .500ish records.
Texans should be good. They have the 1 or 2 best WR, a great QB, and a yong and coming defense. They are in a tough spot with the Colts but put them in most other divisons they are a playoff lock.
Since the face been revealed the game got real
Which division would that be? AFC East? AFC North? NFC South? NFC East? NFC North? Since theyre not a lock to even come in 2nd any of those divisions (even their own AFC South where the Titans and the Jags can be playoff bound in any given year), exactly what division will they dominate? AFC West still has the Bolts and the NFC West has the up and coming 49ers.
F the Texans. Theyre soft.
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Good stuff bro. I especially agree with you with regards to the Bengals. I think they really reloaded and will be a tough out this year for sure. Palmer has a bunch of guys that can make plays for him inthe passing game this year. Not only do they have Chad JOHNSON and TO and Bryant, but they drafted the highly touted and much needed TE, Gresham, and the better than Welker, Shipley. And they still have a dynamite running game with a tough tough D (when healthy). They really aren’t getting the props they deserve.
Exactly. Both the Bengals and Ravens will be good, but people assume that the Bengals success was a fluke, and it wasn’t.
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by Ryan Alfieri on Jul 30, 2010 1:51 AM EDT up reply actions
Maybe you are assuming it wasn’t a fluke, and is was….
I think they will be good but they ALWAYS manage to screw it up. Even last year, they had a great team and COMPLETELY imploded to finish the year.
The Bengals won the division, but
Let’s not forget that the Jets completely kicked their butts in the last game of the regular season and then again for good measure in the Playoffs. The Bengals claimed they laid down for the Jets in the regular season finale, so they’d get them again in the Playoffs. Well, they got what they wished for – although I sure doubt that they expected to be so physically destroyed in that game by the Jets, and the Playoff game proved that the regular season game was no fluke at all.
Flacco will be better then Palmer next year. He was already better then him last year and had the same problems at WR.
Reed worries me, but his backup is good. People forget Reed missed 4 games last year and our pass defense during those games was good.
We have good corners they are just coming off injuries. Ladarius Webb was shaping up to be one of the best corners and return men in the league before he hurt his knee. He will come back after the bye. Fabian Washington may come back before then.
The only big passing teams we face before the bye are NE and maybe the Bengals (if they improve over last year, they weren’t good last year). The Jets are definitely not a pass first team, and Holmes won’t be joining you on Monday.
I think the Ravens are exactly where they should be.
The Bengals are as good as the Ravens, but they have a harder schedule (last year they had a very easy schedule).
you got it wrong
I think the Ravens will win the entire conference.
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Suck it Pats, Bills and most of all... the god damn jets.
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Ironically, Just when the Ravens' Offense Takes Off, the D falls apart
IMHO, the core of the Ravens D has gotten old, and the Cody / Kindle draft sure looks a lot weaker than it did a month ago. Ed Reed is going to miss at least 1/3 of the season, and how long can Ray Lewis keep up the pace of the past few years without Reed freelancing behind him?
They will score much more than they have in prior years, but they will give up plenty of points as well.
You do realize they were number three in D last year and haven’t been worse than 6th in like 7 years. Every year since Lewis hit 30 teams and fans have said the defense is getting old and will fall apart, yet it doesn’t happen. Maybe this will finally be the year, but you can’t beat your chest if you were right since everyone has been saying this year in and year out for a decade.
yes their a bit older then average but hopefully for them kindle can recover bc they could use the youth
hey im a dolphins fan im just looking at this from an outsider perspective and i think BAL has a chance to be the team to beat in the AFC.
Laces out!
-2008 AFC East Champions-
Suck it Pats, Bills and most of all... the god damn jets.
Sean Smith/Vontae Davis= Pat Surtain/Sam Madison
BRANDON MARSHALL- FUTURE MIAMI HOF WR!!!!!
i agree they are aging...
Cody is fine. Its a great front page to go after the fat guy, but he passed the next day. LeRon McClain failed the same test in 2008, right before rushing for 1000+ yards and going to a pro bowl. Cody will not being doing 300 yard shuttles on the field, he wasn’t brought in to do that. All the reports I’m hearing on him impress. He will get reps this year.
Kindle we were never sure would take reps this year, he’s behind JJ on the chart and JJ put up great numbers last year. I don’t like the pick myself but I don’t think it makes us weaker in any facet but depth.
Word is the 3rd, 4th, and 5th round picks are looking good.
Ravens were 9th in points on offense and 3rd on defense. If they end up 5th on defense and 7th on offense, but those points don’t get all bunched up (we lost a lot of games by 3 points or less) then they will get 11 wins.
I think you're dreaming if you think they'll be the #5 Defense
maybe #15 is more like it.
Your secondary is in total disarray
With Foxworthy now gone for the year as well as Reed missing at least a third of it.
The Ravens best CB now couldn’t make the nickel package, or probably even the dime package on the Jets at this point. And the lack of a secondary is going to make Ray Lewis show his age. He’s clearly lost a step, which will leave him as merely an above-average LB now – and especially vulnerable when he needs to drop into coverage.
You’ve got 3 defensive studs in Ngata, Suggs, and Lewis, but they can’t make up for the glaring holes in the rest of your squad.
Fact. there is no way the ravens are more overrated than the Jets. Didn’t I just see the Jets as the number one team in the power rankings? We are good. but we arent that good
nyc teams always get overated...
Though they remind me a lot of the 2000 ravens.
Have to include the Cowgirls as overrated
Of course I’m bias, I just hate the girls. I believe the Raiders are going to be much better. As much as I love the Jets, I would put them overrated because of the uncertainty of our second year quarterback as well as or running backs. However, I’m not putting them on that list because for every one person who rate the Jets high, there is two whom rate them as average.
Overrated.... JETS
Good team, high expectations but deffinately overrated
Honestly, from a completely unbias view, the Jets are the most talented and complete team in the NFL.
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Marty Brodeur - Stealing Rangers' lunch money since 1990
by Ryan Alfieri on Jul 30, 2010 12:51 PM EDT up reply actions
On paper…. haven’t shown anything yet 9-7 with a bunch of additions and some subtractions……..I agree on paper the talent is deffinately there but the QB is still a major question mark. Which one will you get, reg season or playoffs
by jonnybgood21 on Jul 30, 2010 12:56 PM EDT up reply actions
Over-rated at #1, maybe, but certainly a playoff team
I would agree that it’s a reach to put the Jets above the Saints and the Colts in the preseason rankings, but certainly, it’s fair to rank them anywhere from #3 to #6 in the NFL going in.
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