The NFC South is a difficult division to grasp. With New Orleans you have a 39 year old quarterback in Drew Brees but for the most part, the guy really hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down. With Atlanta, Matt Ryan and his group of wideouts could make a case to not only win the division but get back to the super bowl. However, I have my questions about their offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian. The Panthers are a solid team but their offense just can’t seem to keep up with the Saints and Falcons. Can they win with a good run game and mediocre pass game? A track meet in this division will always go to a Brees or Ryan led team. And Tampa Bay has tweaked their roster so much in the offseason it’s no telling if they’ll actually improve on last years 5-11 record. How many playoff teams will pop out of the South? Let’s take a look.
Carolina Panthers: Last season the Panthers finished with a .500 record in the division but won all but two against non-NFC South opponents. 11-5 is nothing to sneeze at but losing to the Saints three times including the first round of the playoffs surely has head coach Ron Rivera losing some sleep. If they want to compete for the division title they’ll have to vastly improve that passing attack or put all their hopes into that 4th ranked rushing game led by Christian McCaffrey and former Bronco, CJ Anderson. Cutting ties with their franchise leading running back, Jonathan Stewart, was the Panthers front office handing over the keys to McCaffrey. Although he was heavily used in the passing game (80 rec for 651 yds) the Stanford workhorse had 81 less carries than Stewart. They want him to be a true all around player and that means finding a way to push past that initial contact when running the football. CJ Anderson is where he belongs; a backup and compliment to a number 1. He’s an average back but will be a nice change of pace when McCaffrey needs a breather. Carolina needs to be better in the pass game. You know those WR’s aren’t crazy about a running back leading the team in catches. They went out and traded for Torrey Smith and drafted D.J. Moore in the 1st round. Getting Greg Olsen back in the lineup should help some as Cam Newton likes to look his way when healthy. The Panthers defense is pretty solid, led by middle linebacker Luke Kuechly but they have issues in the secondary. Another former Bronco, safety Mike Adams, is 37 and their best DB, James Bradberry, is not really a playmaker. Last season, they were 18th in the league against the pass while they were 3rd against the run. If some playmakers can show up in their secondary, Carolina could be even better than last year. But that’s a big if. I like their run game and Cam Newton is still a top ten QB but overall, I think their lack of a strong receiving corps and underwhelming DB’s will hurt them when it comes to getting past the Saints and Falcons. I see Carolina starting 1-2 out the gates: Dallas, @Atlanta and home against Cincinnati. They’ll go into their buy and hobble back to over .500 but just barely. 9-7. No playoffs.
New Orleans Saints: What’s not to like about this team on the offensive side of the football? They are one of the best in the league and they’re doing it thanks in part to a 39 year old QB in Drew Brees. Even though Brees could shoulder the load, he doesn’t have to thanks to a superior run game. Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara could quite possibly be the best 1-2 punch in the league. Michael Thomas had 104 catches last season and should be even better this year. Ted Gin Jr., rookie Trequan Smith and recently signed Cameron Meridith from Chicago make this group of wideouts among the top in the NFL. RT Ryan Ramczyk is in his second year but already plays like a 10 year vet. Defensively, they are a lot like Green Bay; tired of the Offense getting all the credit. New Orleans was aggressive in the offseason when it came to overhauling their defense. They still think they can build around DE Cameron Jordan and that starts with finding someone on the other end to compliment him. Currently, their depth chart shows Alex Okafor as a starting DE but first round draft pick Marcus Davenport should compete for that spot as soon as training camp starts. I like what they are trying to do to improve their D and I think they’ll see progress in 2018. Can they win the division? Yes and with a fairly easy opening schedule against Tampa Bay, Cleveland, NY Giants and Washington among their first 5, the Saints should be a top seed in the NFC. 12-4 and they’ll be close to Green Bay for that number 1 seed.
Atlanta Falcons: The future of star wideout Julio Jones is very much in doubt in Atlanta but he’s locked in for the 2018 campaign. And so is their new WR, Calvin Ridley. That combo will wreak havoc in the NFC South and with Matt Ryan being the guy to facilitate the carnage, opposing defenses should be afraid…very afraid. With an average O-line and Devonta Freeman in the backfield, they have the roster to be one of the best offenses in the league. However, replacing Kyle Shanahan as O coordinator last year proved to be a tall task. Yardage wise they were solid but were 15th in the league in scoring. Steve Sarkisian, in his second year, will need to be on his game as he may very well be the difference between playoffs and an early vacation. Shifting over to Defense, the biggest concern here is losing Nose tackle Dontari Poe. The Falcons insist this allows their young guys to flourish but when you are a top 10 D against the run, it’s tough to gamble on youth. Vic Beasly is going back to the edge full time as the hybrid experiment didn’t work quite how they wanted it to. Rookie out of CU, Isiah Oliver, is high on my watch list. He’ll be their nickel guy for now, but I love this kid. He has the right stuff to be a number 2 CB soon. All in all the Falcons are a nice team. There’s a lot of pressure on their offensive coordinator to get the best out of a ridiculously talented roster. They open the season against the Eagles in Philly on Sept 6. We will find out a lot about this group early. I like two playoff teams in the NFC South. ATL will do no better, no worse than last year record wise. 10-6 and a wildcard birth.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Jameis Winston, as predicted, is proving to be difficult off the field. After the NFL concluded that he did in fact violate the personal conduct policy by touching an uber driver in an inappropriate and sexual manner without her consent, he’ll sit out for their first 3 games: At New Orleans, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh. I would have said those were losses anyway but now there’s now doubt. 0-3 before Chicago and a buy. They’ll be lucky to snatch a win before October 21st when they play the Browns. Head Coach Dirk Koetter is 14-18 in two seasons and while Bucs fans are desperately trying to stay optimistic, they have to wonder if they have the right man for the job. I guess the one good thing about Tampa Bay last season was the fact they were in a lot of close games. They had 10 one score games but only won 3 of them. Backup QB Ryan Fitzpatrick will get yet ANOTHER shot as a starter but by the time Winston comes back, it might be too late. I have this team finishing last in the NFC South at 6-10.
NFC SOUTH: Saints – 12-4. Falcons – 10-6. Panthers – 9-7. Bucs – 6-10.
