The 5 Most Overrated NFL Teams in 2020–2021

5: New England Patriots

Although the Patriots lost the greatest player of all time in free agency, many experts believe that the Patriots will still be around. Vegas has their over/under at 9.5 wins, which is in the top 7 in the AFC despite losing Brady, having no offensive weapons, and loosing 6 defensive starters. Vegas believes that the patriots will still be in the playoffs just because Bill Belichik is a Hall of Fame coach. However, Belichik might be a little bit overrated. Sure, he drafts defensive players well (such as Patrick Chung, Ty Law, and Devin McCourty), but he has not drafted an offensive pro bowler since Gronk. The game is starting to move away from him because football is now becoming a wide receiver dependent league, and Belichik cannot draft wide receivers well. In addition to that, he is unwilling to sign them in free agency. We are seeing the once dominant San Antonio Spurs struggling this year, being the 11th seed in the west, even though Popovich is one of the best coaches in NBA history. We are seeing how they are struggling because they are not dynamic enough to compete with other teams in the west. Last year in New England, the defense was able to bail the offense out, but they struggled against dynamic quarterbacks. Now, they are going to face a lot of great offenses, while losing six defensive starters. This means that their defense can’t bail them out anymore.

Another reason why the Patriots should not be thought of as playoff contenders is because of Jarret Stidham. I keep hearing about how amazing he is, but I am not sold on him. First of all, we all watched Jarrett Stidham in Auburn, and he did not blow many people away. He had 18 TD passes in his final year despite having a lot of talent around him. Now, despite having one of the worst set of weapons in the NFL, am I supposed to believe he will turn into a pro bowler just because Belichik is a great head coach? Also, if he is that great, why did the patriots need to bring back Brian Hoyer to compete for the starting job? Did the Chiefs need to bring in a veteran to compete with Patrick Mahomes once Alex smith left? If you have to bring in a Quarterback to compete with your current starter, that means that your current starter is not very good. And to prove my point, Rob Ninkovich, who has played in New England before, and has many connections there, actually believes that Hoyer will win the Job. Neither Stidham nor Hoyer are dynamic enough to overcome New England’s lackluster offensive personnel. All of the good young quarterbacks in the NFL have one thing in common; they are play makers and can overcome many holes on their roster. Despite all of these issues and the fact that they have the toughest schedule in the NFL, Vegas still believes that they will make the playoffs. This is what makes them overrated.

4. Green Bay Packers

You may look at the Packers’ 13–3 record and think that they are one of the best teams in the NFL. But when you actually watch them play, you know that this is a team with significant holes that got many breaks. One problem that I think the Packers have that nobody is talking about is their coaching. Even though they were 13–3, you can tell that this team is not well coached when you watch them, as they cannot play a full 60 minute game, and they will randomly just shut down; that is 100 percent coaching. They are also the first 13–3 team to ever be out gained by their opponents. That means that they were always outplayed in games and only won by winning the turnover battle. That is not sustainable. This shows that they are just being bailed out by their talent and the refs. The refs really helped them in the Detroit and Carolina games, as they were outplayed in both games, and only won because of horrible officiating. This shows that Matt Lafleur does not pay good attention to detail and should not be thought of as a rising star as a head coach.

Speaking of wins, most of their wins came in ugly, unconvincing fashion and their flaws are exposed whenever they face a good team. They are really soft, and they get pushed around whenever they face a physical team. We saw the Eagles, Chargers, and 49ers (twice) beat them convincingly because of their softness. The game against the 49ers exposed all their flaws as they were too conservative and did not want to take any risks which a physical team like the 49ers sniffed out. Them playing ugly football cost them. Just like what I said about the Patriots, they are not dynamic enough offensively as Aaron Rodgers played way to safe in 2019. Davonte Adams was the only receiver he trusted and did not have much depth after, which smart defensive coaches figured out.

I also think that their division will be a lot better this year so they won’t get many breaks, such as playing the lions without Matt Stafford (both wins were still off walk off field goals), and they won’t get to face Trubisky twice, as Nick Foles will likely be the starter and should be a lot better than Trubisky. I also don’t think they have the roster that the Vikings do, as they have a top 10 roster in the NFL. This means that they likely will not go 6–0 in division like they did last year. Expect a lot of regression from the Packers.

3. Tennessee Titans

There are huge expectations for the Titans this year after going to the AFC championship game last year. A lot of people think that just because they went to the AFC title game last year, they will go to the super bowl this year. But I don’t think that will be the case due to a variety of factors. The first one is a loss of many key players from the AFC championship run in free agency. Yes, they were able to keep Ryan Tannehill and Derrick Henry, but there were many key players that left that made a huge impact in that championship run. This includes Logan Ryan (who was their best corner), Jurrell Casey, Cameron Wake, and Jack Conklin (their best offensive lineman). These losses make it hard for the Titans to repeat the success that they had in the 2019 season.

Another reason I don’t think the Titans will be as good is because of their defense. In the first 6 games of the 2019 season, the Titans defense was pretty good. But after that, we saw it get exposed, as from week 6 onwards (including the playoffs ), they gave up over 370 yards of total offense 11 times. Just like what I said about the Packers, this is a defense that does not make anybody uncomfortable and relies too much on the turnover battle to limit points. Now it gets much worse after losing 3 of their best defensive players.

Another reason why they will regress is because of Ryan Tannehill. Yes, I know that he played as well as any other Quarterback did in the 2019 season after he came in for Marcus Mariota, but is it really sustainable? Ryan Tannehill to me is a better version of Ryan Fitzpatrick, as he has had stretches of games in his career where he looked like the best QB in the NFL. But we have seen that after these miraculous stretches, he wildly regresses, so expect regression from Ryan Tannehill, as his miraculous season just is not sustainable. In the Mike Vrabel era, Tennessee has been a bad favorite, as just when you start falling in love with them, they break your heart.

2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers added Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski during the offseason and suddenly the hype for the Buccaneers has been through the roof. ESPN had them ranked as the team with the best offseason, and many (especially Skip Bayless) have them representing the NFC in the Superbowl. Let’s just put some context into things before crowning them NFC champions. People think that just because they added Tom Brady, the greatest QB of all time, it takes them to the next level. But are the Buccaneers really a good fit for Tom Brady, and at this point of his career, is he really that big of an upgrade over Jameis Winston? Bruce Arians, the Buccaneers head coach, is known to be a really aggressive coach who likes to throw the ball deep, which often leads to many interceptions. We can already see that this is a problem, as Tom Brady, just like Aaron Rodgers, in the last few years did not like to put the ball in harm’s way, as the Patriots have gotten more conservative as the years have gone by. We already see the different play styles of Brady and Winston, and now throw in the lack of OTA’s and a difficult September schedule, we know that this will be tough. We have seen a trend with old quarterbacks, that their arm strength vanishes really fast as they get older. So the Quarterbacks that win when they get older are the ones which have good run support. We know that Bruce Arians has never been known for creating good running games, so Tom Brady will be forced to throw a lot, which he should not at 43 years old.

Another thing which has not been mentioned is the Buccaneers’ defense, as they have not been very good. They have been giving up 28.1 points per game, which is the 3rd worst in the NFL, which means most of their games are going to be shootouts. That should not be their plan considering the age of their QB. In September, which has been Tom Brady’s worst month in his career, they have to play at New Orleans, Carolina, at Denver in the high altitude, and the LA Chargers. Those teams have really good offensive weapons, which is trouble considering how bad the Buccaneers’ defense is and that they have a new QB with a limited offseason.

The main reason why everybody has the Buccaneers as a serious Superbowl contender is that they believe that Brady is a massive upgrade over Jameis Winston, but is he really? Even though he threw 30 interceptions, you cannot ignore Jameis’ production. Last year Jameis threw for 5,000 yards (which only a limited amount of QB’s have done) and 33 touchdowns. Last year Tom Brady only completed 60 percent of his throws and that is in a conservative New England system where they don’t ask you to make difficult throws. Tom is now entering a Tampa Bay system that constantly makes you throw deep down the field and make difficult throws. In terms of Tampa Bay’s offensive scheme, the gap between a 43-year-old Brady and Jameis Winston may not be as big as people think. So those factors prove that the Buccaneers are over-hyped.

1.Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys have one of the largest expectations heading into the 2020 NFL season. They have the 3rd best odds to win the NFC, but why do they have these insane expectations? First, people think that just because they got rid of Jason Garrett and replaced him with Mike McCarthy, they are Superbowl contenders. But is Mike McCarthy really a good fit with the Cowboys system. A coach’s usual game plan should match what the team’s strengths and weaknesses are. For instance, Kyle Shanahan likes power running schemes and that is perfect for the 49ers, considering the many good running backs the 49ers have. Andy Reid likes to throw the ball a lot and that is perfect for the Chiefs considering they have Patrick Mahomes and the NFL fastest receiving corps. However, Mike McCarthy is not a good fit in Dallas because the Cowboys have one of the best offensive lines in NFL, and one of the best running back in the NFL, so they are built to run the ball. But that is not Mike McCarthy’s specialty as during his time with the Packers, they ranked near the bottom in rush attempts. We saw last year that Dak Prescott is not good when he has to throw the ball a lot, which was always a big reason for them constantly falling behind in the first half of games. Last year Kellen Moore, the Cowboys offensive coordinator, bailed on the run as soon as it struggled just a little bit, and whenever Dak is forced to throw the ball a lot it never ends well in the win loss column.

What is even more disturbing to me is that the Cowboys’ defense last year was one of the worst units in the league. Many bad QB’s such as Mitchell Trubisky and Case Keenum had career games against the Cowboys (Trubisky threw for over 300 yards and the Bears had their highest point total all season when they faced the Cowboys), and the defense has gotten way worse as they lost their sack leader, Robert Quinn, and their best corner, Byron Jones, in free agency. This means that Dak Prescott will be constantly forced to win shootouts, and we have seen throughout his career that Dak is not that type of QB. Dak Prescott wins when he has a running game and they win the time of possession battle, but with the coaching staff they have assembled, that probably won’t be their main game plan.

Another overrated thing about the Cowboys is their draft, as many draft analysts proclaimed them as one of the huge winners in the draft. Many people loved their first-round pick of wide receiver Ceedee Lamb, and their second-round pick of Corner Trevon Diggs, but I am here to tell you that those were the wrong picks. The Cowboys should not have taken a wide receiver in the first round, as it was not a need and instead was a huge luxury. They should have looked to trade down, as they have many holes on defense. Their second-round pick, Trevon Diggs, was also the wrong pick, as defensive players that leave Alabama get considerably worse. Nick Saban is one of the best defensive minds in football, and players that leave him are often never the same players. The Cowboys draft should have been like the Panthers draft, as it should have been nothing but defensive players, and none from Alabama. The Cowboys, just like last year, are once again dominating the press, and people are buying into the hype, but I warn you not to.