NFL Power Rankings: 5 Overrated Teams Guaranteed to Be Exposed in Preseason

Overrated is a relative term, because in order for a team to be overrated, there has to be expectations attached to you that you can’t or won’t live up to. NFL teams often get overrated because fans only want to see the best-case scenario, instead of looking at things as they really are.

Fans and analysts overrate NFL teams all the time for a variety of reasons. The biggest reason is we simply look at the name of the team and assume that, because they were great in the 1990s, they will be great in 2011.

The five most overrated teams in the NFL right now are: the Atlanta Falcons, Arizona Cardinals, San Diego Chargers, Kansas City Chiefs and New Orleans Saints.

The Falcons won 13 games last season, but a lot of those were last-second wins. Teams that win a lot of close games late often find that luck doesn’t transfer from one year to the next. They can win 10 games, but they will not win a lot more than that.

Kevin Kolb is the guy the Cardinals wanted, but they had to give up one of the few defensive players that they had. Larry Fitzgerald will be happy, but the team as a whole will struggle to get to seven wins. But since they play in the NFC west, that might be good enough to win the division.  

Every year, the Chargers are Super Bowl favorites and every year they disappoint. Something always goes wrong with this team, so don’t expect a big season from them. Individuals will play well, but as a whole, this team will fall short of 10 wins.

Kansas City shocked the world last year by winning the AFC west. Matt Cassel looked good in some games, but he is not a dynamic quarterback. The rushing attack, led by Jamaal Charles, will keep the team in games. But when they need to score quickly, Cassel will get overwhelmed and the team will fall short of 10 wins this season.

Finally, the New Orleans Saints, who were the toast of the NFL world two years ago. This team has a great offense led by Drew Brees, but that defense has a lot of holes that haven’t been patched up. They got exposed against Seattle in the playoffs. They will win enough to compete for a playoff spot, but don’t expect a deep playoff run if they are able to get in.

Those are the five most overrated teams heading into the 2011 NFL season.

2011 NFL Power Rankings
1. New England Patriots
2. Green Bay Packers
3. Philadelphia Eagles
4. Pittsburgh Steelers
5. Atlanta Falcons
6. Indianapolis Colts
7. New Orleans Saints
8. New York Jets
9. Baltimore Ravens
10. San Diego Chargers
11. Houston Texans
12. Chicago Bears
13. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
14. Kansas City Chiefs
15. Dallas Cowboys
16. New York Giants
17. Minnesota Vikings
18. St. Louis Rams
19. Detroit Lions
20. Arizona Cardinals
21. Seattle Seahawks
22. Jacksonville Jaguars
23. Denver Broncos
24. Miami Dolphins
25. Oakland Raiders
26. Cleveland Browns
27. Tennessee Titans
28. San Francisco 49ers
29. Buffalo Bills
30. Carolina Panthers
31. Cincinnati Bengals
32. Washington Redskins