The NFL Eightfold Path: NFC South

The NFC South is primarily known for its quarterbacks and its parody. Teams have frequently been able to go from worst to first despite tough competition. I cannot say the Bucs are prepared to do this, but the fact remains that this division is no stranger to surprises. The Saints’ bounty scandal and suspensions level the playing field and chip away at the supreme level of talent in New Orleans, but whether or not it will be enough to dethrone the division champs remains to be seen. Cam Newton is certainly a fun story but, in order to progress as a player, his NFL relevance will have to equal his fantasy football importance. There is a big leap between being a great player on a bad team and elevating that team to playoff contention. The Falcons had a solid season brought to a violent end by the eventual Super Bowl champions, and will compete with the remaining two underdogs to chase after the room left by the Saints’ disastrous offseason.

4. Buccaneers: Based on the eye test alone, I believe this was the worst team in football last season. They may not have had the worst record, but their play and effort were nonexistent throughout the second half of the season. Josh Freeman’s development took a huge step backwards and I could not even get a fair read on their defense because they were so apathetic. With Vincent Jackson bringing some life back into Freeman’s passing offense, I am sure Tampa will be more respectable as a team, but their record may be just as bad. I wish there was more to say about the Buccaneers, but in this division and conference they simply do not stack up well enough to be competitive. In the NFC, there are few easy wins, and the Bucs are one of them.

3. Panthers: Cam Newton pieced together the most impressive personal rookie season in NFL history. He was the downfall of the Green Bay defense, dominated both the air and ground, and single handedly revived Steve Smith’s dynamic career. The key word behind his accomplishments is personal because while he did make the Panthers better, it still felt like more of a fantasy football exhibition than a team making a playoff push. Last year, I had the Panthers as the second best NFL offseason, next to only the “dream team” Eagles. Not only did I have faith in Cam, but the moves made to hang onto their talent and bring in some new free agents were impressive to me as well. With all this said, I was clearly on the Carolina bandwagon, however this year’s perceived playoff chances may be a slight overreaction. I still see Newton and company as an eight win team, which would be another improvement. Despite being third here, the Panthers are certainly trending in the right direction. The return of John Beason at middle linebacker will single handedly fix most of their defensive issues. He is basically Pat Willis on a lesser team. With Williams and Stewart joining Cam’s ground efforts, Carolina can definitely lead the NFL in rushing, which would be great for the other aspects of this very promising team.

2. Saints: Drew Brees shattered records last season and should be a guarantee to win almost any division by himself. In addition to this record setting aerial assault, the Saints quietly have an excellent and versatile running game as well. With Pierre Thomas as the consistency, Darren Sproles for big plays, and an undetermined amount of production from a now healthy Mark Ingram, this team would win half of their games with a terrible quarterback. The biggest story here is obviously the bounty scandal and the suspensions that stripped New Orleans of a defensive coordinator, a head coach, a middle linebacker and everyone else affected by a process that I may or may not despise. While the commissioner’s habits are for another day, we are forced to move on taking into account these penalties. At face value, the Saints still have what makes them dominant. Their many offensive weapons are still intact, however in a strong division there may be more to winning than firepower. Allegedly, Sean Payton is the NFL’s best and most intricate play caller. I am sure Drew Brees and what is left of the coaching staff can piece something effective together, but I cannot imagine a repeat of last season without Payton calling the shots. Without the head coach that built this phenomenal offense, we can expect at least a slight dip in production. Without a shutdown defense, this slight decrease on offense may be enough to give the division away to a more complete team.

1. Falcons: Complete is the first word that comes to mind when I think of the Atlanta Falcons. Michael Turner has made them one of the best ground and pound teams in the NFL, and he now has the luxury of Matt Ryan’s one-two punch of receivers. Roddy White and Julio Jones can take the NFL’s best wide receiver duo title this season. Anytime someone as elite as Roddy White may lose his number one receiver spot to a young player that the team essentially traded the General Manager’s house for, you know you have something special. Defensively, Atlanta has playmakers but has always been one dominant middle linebacker away from being as complete on defense as they are on offense. I always wanted to photoshop John Beason onto their roster to just see what happens. Either way, Atlanta has what it takes to win this division because they are finally becoming as dynamic as they are balanced. Turner may be aging but, with those two outside weapons, he is about to receive a lot more room to run. Matt Ryan is not elite, but has always been able to maintain a great offense as long as the pieces are already in place. My main concern with this team is their dramatic decrease in performance once the playoffs arrive. They are the only team in this division to not appear in a Super Bowl in the past decade. From Mike Vick’s era to Matt Ryan’s, they can seemingly never reach the Promised Land. Maybe part of it is just bad luck when you consider the fact that their last two eliminations were to eventual Super Bowl champions. Despite this coincidence, I do not give them a break. Anyone with the awful nickname “Matty Ice” should be able to elevate his play in the biggest games, especially now that his supporting cast is fantastic. I have the Falcons winning this division, but the regular season has never exactly been their problem.

I briefly mentioned NFC South quarterbacks earlier, and I would someday like to find which division really is the best collection of four quarterbacks. My first impression is between here and the NFC East, but when the time comes it could be anyone according to the numbers. In terms of this season’s results, I do think the Saints may lose control of this division, but I still expect them to advance to the playoffs. This would leave the last spot to a fight between the winner of the Bears-Lions conflict and the NFC East runner up. I may not have given Carolina as much credit as people would expect after the progress they made last season, but I do believe Cam Newton will determine the winner of this division when they play the Saints in week 17. That one game may be all that separates the two top teams if Cam is able to upset Drew Brees and a limping New Orleans Saints. Next time, we have finally made our way home on our NFL path of enlightenment. It is almost time to play the yearly game of figuring out the order of the AFC East teams behind the Patriots.