The NFC South is an interesting division. There was a weird run for a few years back that the team who finished in first had the honor of finishing last the previous season. This division may be the most democratic of all the divisions, because they like to let everyone get a feel of what it's like to be on top (moreso than other divisions). This is one of only three divisions where every team has won the crown at least once in the past 10 years (AFC and NFC West have also let this happen). Now, let's get to the breakdown.
NFC SOUTH
1. Atlanta Falcons. With all the troubles with the New Orleans Saints (I'll get to that shortly) this will be the year the Falcons take over the divison crown. They have a bitter taste in their mouth after getting embarrassed by the Giants in the playoffs; the offense didn't score and Hakeem Nicks ran through the defense like a hot knife going through butter. Matt Ryan looks like he is ready to step up into the elite quarterback club. He definitely has the weapons. Roddy White has proven to be one of the most consistent receivers in the league and is a target the Ryan knows he can get the ball to in a big situation and White will make the play. White is as sure handed of a receiver as there is in the game, rarely dropping a pass and will run the tough routes over the middle. Opposite of White is Julio Jones. Jones showed flashes as a rookie of why the Falcons gave up so many picks last year to move up in the draft to get him. He is a legitimate deep threat who greatly benefits from having White on the field with him. The ageless wonder Tony Gonzalez is still a top tier tight end, even nowin the twilight of his career. Gonzalez may not have the speed he once had, but he still finds a way to get open. He does get a lot of room to operate with White and Jones on the field getting attention from the safeties and all he needs is an inch of room to work with and he will be open and give Ryan a big target in the middle of the field. Running back Michael Turner is starting to get old but he is still a durable back who can plow through defenders. Although do not be surprised if second year running back Jacquizz Rodgers starts to see plenty of action, if for no other reason to save Turner's legs for a post-season push. when they acquired Asante Samuel from the Eagles and only had to give up a sixth round draft pick, but again is also being payed a lot of money. They are going to have to make big plays in order for the Falcons to accomplish their Super Bowl dreams. The Falcons will benefit from an easy schedule at the start of the year and take the division title with a 12-4 record.The offensive line was built to be run-blocking unit, but they do a better than average job in protecting their quarterback as well. Although the tackles can be vulnerable if left in space against a speed rusher, but for the most part the Falcons do a good job in their protection schemes. On the defensive side of the ball, the Falcons are still praying for another good season out of their veteran defensive end John Abraham. Abraham is definitely in the twilight of his career, but has the skills to still be highly productive. Opposite of him is Ray Edwards will have to produce more than he did last year, now that he should be fully adjusted to the system. The linebacking group got weakened when the Falcons let Curtis Lofton go in free agency. Sean Witherspoon is a very athletic player, but he is still inexperienced and needs to show why he was a first round pick three years ago. The secondary is good, but you would think they would be great for the money that the falcons have shelled out in this area. Brent Grimes got franchised in the off-season making him drastically over-paid in my opinion. I don't believe that he is a top 5 cornerback, but for this year he will get paid top 5 money. The Falcons did make a good trade in getting Assante Samuel away from the Eagles. The Falcons will win the division with a 12-4 record.
2. New Orleans Saints. This team would normally be the front runners for the division title, but after the fallout from the bounty program and all the suspensions the team will have, they are no longer the team to beat in the division. The coaching problem will cost them in the early season, until Joe Vitt will be able to come back and run the team after week 6, but this will cause a lot of chaos. Quarterback Drew Brees will do his best to keep this team in the playoff race, but even as great as he is, this is too tall of a task to ask. Brees has done nothing since his arrival in New Orleans, except arguably be the best quarterback in the game over that time. His passing numbers are staggering every year and should be battling to break his own record from last season. The Saints running game is very effective even though they use many different backs. Darren Sproles showed how versatile he is last year and what a weapon he can be, when used properly. He was a threat in the running game, passing game and returning kicks, as no one in the history of the NFL had more all-purpose yards than Sproles did for one season. Pierre Thomas provides a little power to the running game as he has a habit of getting the tough yards. Mark Ingram has been dealing with injuries, so his potential has not been fully seen. The passing game is what moves the Saints offense. Former seventh round pick Marques Colston has been one of the most reliable receivers in the NFL since he was drafted, while he is not the burner of the bunch; he is the one who will get open and is sure-handed enough to make the catch. Devery Henderson and Lnace Moore are going to have to step up their game this year in the abscence of Robert Meachem. One of these 2 are going to have to provide a solid deep threat for Brees, to open up the middle for Jimmy Graham. Graham has developed into one of the best tight ends in the game. He is a pure receiving tight end as he is not asked to do much in-line blocking and is often lined up as a wide receiver. He was a dominant force for the offense all season long. The offense line as a whole could very well be the best in the game. They don't allow the quarterback to be hit very often let alone get sacked. They did lose guard Carl Nicks, but replaced him with Ben Grubbs, which is no drop off at all. The tackles of Bushrod and Strief hold up well against both speed and power rushers, which again help keep Brees clean all game. The defense on paper looks very solid, but with the change in the defense coordinator, will they be as good as they appear to be. The defensive line is very good. Although they will have to deal with the four game suspension of defensive end Will Smith, for his alleged role in the bounty program. Smith and Cameron Jordan are a good tandem of defensive ends, who can both play the run and get after the quarterback. Defensive tackles Broderick Bunkley and Sedrick Ellis plug up the middle as good as any pair of defensive tackles in the league. Middle linebacker Curtis Lofton, coming over from Atlanta, is going to have to fill the shoes of suspended Jonathon Vilma. Lofton is going to have to call the defense on the field as well as make some big plays. The corners of Patrick Robertson and Jabari Greer are solid corners who have the capability of making a big play for the defense. Safeties Malcolm Jenkins and Roman Harper are also as solid as can be, Jenkins is more of the playmaker, while Harper is the more physical player. Harper is more likely to come on blitzes and force fumbles in that way. Harper can be an instigator and sometimes crosses the line, but yet he does a good job of getting the other player to draw the personal foul penalty and he stays clean. With all the chaos that this team will face, I see them finishing 9-7 and missing the palyoffs for the first time in a few years.
3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Tampa Bay was just a beautiful disaster last season. They had so much potential shown from the previous year, that there was some hope for the team to make a playoff run. The quarterback play of Josh Freeman was horrible last year. He was inconsistent and had way too many turnovers. He is going to have to limit the turnover this year. The running game got boosted with the drafting of Doug Martin. He is expected to and will win the starting job and be the guy to carry the load and take some pressure of Freeman. They also got a legitimate number 1 receiver when they picked up Vincent Jackson from San Diego in free agency. Jackson will give Freeman a target all over the field as jackson will run al routes, but does excel in the deep game. Jackson's arrival will allow Mike Williams to develop into a quality second receiver and won't have to be the main guy. He can use his size to make plays over the middle and gain first downs for the team. Dallas Clark appears to be finishing up his career in a new home. Clark was an exceptional tight end for the Colts for many years, now he has the opportunity to step outside of that team's legacy and help make a young quarterback better. The offensive line had the potential to be great with the addition of carl Nicks, but the season-ending injury to opposite guard Davin Joseph leaves the offensive line with a big hole. Tackles Donald Penn and Jeremy Trueblood are very solid, but have to work on their pass protection to protect their young quarterback. The defensive unit is filled with a lot of youth and it's time for this youth to hit their potential. This defense has the potential to be one of the most hell-raising groups because they have speed everywhere. It starts up front. Former 3rd overall pick Gerald McCoy has got to stay healthy and two he has to live up to his potential. Another bad season from McCoy and he is going to be considered a bust, at the time of the draft there were people arguing that he was better than Ndamkong Suh, well he's proven those anaylsts wrong. Adrian Clayborn showed a lot of promise as a rookie and has to continue to play well and make plays on the quarterback. The linebackers are very young, but have the potential to be great. Rookie Lavonte David has a chance to be Defensive Rookie of the Year if he can continue to be the tackle machine he was in college. David has amazing insticts and always appears to be in on the play. The secondary is interesting. Aqib Talib has been up and down his entire career and Eric Wright on the other side was burned a lot last year. Veteran Ronde Barber came back for one last year and is expected to move to strong safety to help the team in an area of weakness. Rookie Mark Barron is also expected to make plays and be the front runner for DROY. The future looks brighter than it did last year for the Bucs, but they are not a playoff team yet, but will surprise teams and finish the season with a 7-9 record.
4. Carolina Panthers. Year two of the Cam Newton era begins. newton shocked everyone last year as he came out the gate with back-to-back 400 yard passing games, but he definitely hit the rookie wall near the end of the season as his numbers went down drastically. The question is if Newton will be interested in improving his game or is he going to be distracted by the commercials he's been doing. You know defensive coordinators have been studying him since the season ended. Newton is extremely dangerous as a running quarterback because of his speed and size. He can blow by you and he can run people over. The Panthers are blessed with two solid running backs in DeAngelo Williams and Jonathon Stewart. The problem is they both can never stay healthy, but they usually are never hurt at the same time, so one is good to go when the other is down, but they work best in a tandem together, becasuse Williams is the speed guy and Stewart is the power guy. Wide receiver Steve Smith was re-energized last year with Newton and will need to continue to have to be the tough receiver he is. He may be the smallest receiver in the league but he doesn't play like it as he runs hard over the middle. The offensive line outside of center Ryan Kahil and tackle Jordan Gross is not the best of units and that will lead to Cam not having time to throw and putting the ball down to run, which can be scary for an opposing defense, unless they worry more about containing him then rushing him. The defense is not as strong as it was in John Fox days. The strength being the linebackers with Jon Beason and rookie Luke Kuechly. Kuechly has the chance to be a great MLB for the next ten years. He has the instincts and the intelligence to play the position. Beason would be better suited moving back to the outside, to take advantage of his athleticism. Moving Beason to the outside gives him less traffic to fight through and he can make plays. Defensive end Charles Johnson, who the Panthers thought was good enough to replace Julius Peppers, is overpaid for his production levels. He had one double digit sack season and got paid a big contract (you know how many guys in the league have one double digit sack season but aren't making a $12M a year average contract). He has to play better than he showed last year, in order for the team to get better. The back 4 are average players, none of whom stand out on this team or any other for that matter. The Panthers have to address the defense and wide receiver positions in future drafts to keep this team progressing. This team has a tough schedule right out the gate with the Saints, Giants and Falcons in their first 4 weeks and will never recover throughout the year as the Pnathers don't have enough talent on the field and will suffer a worse record under year two of Cam Newton's era and finish 4-12.
Ok, I know it was a day late, but life gets in the way sometimes. So, I know that everyone is dying for it, here it finally is. Tomorrow, I may get both AFC and NFC West reviews in, just because there isn't a lot to talk about with some of those teams. Til next time, thanks to all who have peered in and read my work.
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