I will be breaking down 2 divisions a week up until the start of the season. Today's is the NFC South and here is how I think it will go down: (note: these are in order of how we think they will finish and what their records will be)
1. CAROLINA PANTHERS (10-6)
Carolina comes into this season, despite a very rough last season, very excited about the pieces they have in place and the chance they have this season to make a move in their division. Cam Newton was exceptional and outplayed his expectations. WR Steve Smith played like it was 2001 again. Then Carolina has two RB weapons in Deangelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart. The picked up a few more weapons for Cam to throw to including former Raider WR Louis Murphy who was Cam’s teammate when he played for Florida.
On defense, having a defensive minded coach will help with the right pieces, Carolina has a start with the right pieces and it all begins with MLB Jon Beason who is the leader of the defense. OLB Thomas Davis is still trying to recover from a torn ACL injury and would be a help if he can come back healthy. The Panthers drafted a LB in the draft just in case and took Luke Kulechy.
Overall, Carolina still isn’t there to make a playoff run..but I expect them to finish first in a division that takes last place teams and moves them up to first very fast. Cam Newton will have trouble producing like he did last season since defenses know who he is now, but should still put up good numbers. I think in a couple of years this team will be very dangerous.
2. ATLANTA FALCONS (10-6)
Matt Ryan is now in his fifth year as Atlanta’s starter and probably has the best supporting cast, besides an okay offensive line, that he has ever had. With wide out weapons Roddy White and 2nd year man Julio Jones who many expect this year to have a tremendous season the Falcons should be able to move the ball through the air. TE Tony Gonzalez cannot be forgotten about either. At running back they have a ground and pound guy in Michael Turner who should once again run for over 1,000 yards. Jacquizz Rodgers backs him up and is very talented. Atlanta is out to prove their offense is potent after their poor offensive showing against the Giants in the Wild Card game. Scoring no points on offense.
Atlanta’s defense is where there problem could be. They lost a good linebacker in Curtis Lofton (now who plays for the Saints) but they did pick up a Super Bowl, Pro Bowl corner in Asante Samuel. John Abraham was brought back to help pass rush and with veteran leadership but is aging. He has to play well with some young defensive players.
Atlanta will be on the edge of a playoff birth again, but I don’t think they have enough to make a run at the Super Bowl. You match up their team against the Elite teams of the NFC like Green Bay, San Francisco, and NY Giants and they just don’t have the overall talent enough to beat those teams yet.
3. TAMPA BAY BUC’S (8-8)
Josh Freeman comes in thinner and more confident despite coming off the worst season of his young career. Tampa Bay was very aggressive in Free Agency picking up 3 new weapons for Freeman in top wide out Vincent Jackson, TE Dallas Clark and drafting a RB in the first round with Doug Martin. These players are added to an offense that already has bulldozer LeGarrette Blount and a talented WR in Arrelious Benn.
Tampa Bay had the worst defense in the NFL last season so they went out to fix it bringing in CB Eric Wright and drafting SS Mark Barron in the first round. These players should help to go alongside Mason Foster, Gerald McCoy and long time vet Rhonde Barber.
Overall, the Bucs are young. They have a college coach. However, they should be a lot better on offense. The defense is not there yet. But Tampa Bay should win a decent amount of games this season.
4. NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (8-8)
Sadly, New Orleans will be best known for the Bounty scandal this offseason. They lost their defensive coordinator but more importantly lost the genius of Sean Payton to run a high powered offense. Drew Brees however returns after a record breaking season and huge contract. They didn’t lose much on offense. They still have WR’s Lance Moore and WR and the really talented TE of Jimmy Graham and an all around threat in RB Darren Sproles. Not to mention great running backs in Mark Ingram and Pierre Thomas.
Also with the scandal, they lost their veteran leadership in MLB Jonathan Vilma for the season. But picked up MLB Curtis Lofton to hopefully take his place. New Orleans also hopes that young DE Cameron Jordan can step up this season and put pressure on the QB. They lost CB Tracy Porter to the Broncos as well and they are hoping that some of their other young corners will step up and play well.
Overall, this team lost a lot this offseason and with all of the controversy I don’t know if this team has enough in them to pull together in time. They have a very high powered offense but how it will run without Payton still has to be seen. The defense was weak last season and though picking up a couple of pieces could still be their weakspot this year especially without LB leadership with Vilma. This could be a down season for New Orleans.
What do you guys think of my predictions? Did I rank a team too high? Too low? Give me your thoughts!
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