NFC South Preview

Odd division, full of unique scenarios (Tampa's QB list, New Orleans' backfield options,Atlanta's lack of options, etc.)

Saints- An intriguing team, certainly varied in ability level experience and skill set. Drew Brees should have no worries about finding weapons to dissect opposing defenses with, as Marques Colston is still Marques Colston, Reggie Bush maintains his half RB half WR role, and the team made a trade to bring in All-Pro tight end Jeremy Shockey from a disgruntled situation in New York. Devery Henderson and Robert Meachem should be absolutely wonderful options if another team manages to keep Shockey and Colston occupied. The offensive line is a solid squad. Nesbit Stinchcomb and Goodwin are adequate players and known quantities, and the unit is rounded out by enigmatic youngsters Jahri Evans and Jammal Brown. As a whole, they figure to be more than substantial opening holes and protecting passers. Reggie Bush should be a good runner out of the backfield, but he can't carry a whole load so don't consider him an elite option in fantasy leagues. Either Deuce McAllister, Pierre Thomas or Aaron Stecker needs to help him grinding it out against the front seven. McAllister is obviously the most talented of the options, but doctors had to go nuclear on his knee to fix all of the damage he'd done. The defense is a little more hit-or-miss, with superstar bookends Will Smith and Charles Grant (who is facing criminal charges) being centered by some combination of Hollis Thomas, rookie Sedrick Ellis, Bryan Young, and Antwan Lake, which includes nary a single known quantity, due to age or inexperience.Linebacking shouldn't be a problem, with Jonathan Vilma having been brought in and being plugged back into his most familiar Mike Linebacking 4-3 role. Scott Fujita returns to start on the strong side, where he always plays with authority, but the weakside is a little shaky because Dan Morgan retired earlier this offseason, leaving it to Scott Shanle. Shanle isn't a poor performer, but he doesn't provide big plays quite like one would hope. The defensive backs need to replace Mike McKenzie, because he's too old for this in the NFL and corners don't age gracefully outside the Tampa 2. The safeties are fine though, and Randall Gay should be plenty serviceable as a #1 corner.

Buccaneers- They only get my number two billing because of Jake Delhomme's elbow surgery and Atlanta being the Falcons. Jeff Garcia is still a marginal game managing QB who's skills misfit with a set of receiver's that are geared towards downfield routes. Alex Smith and Ben Troupe are good options off the ends of the lines, moving well for such big bodies. Earnest Graham was a splendid option to replace Cadillac Williams last year, and while I wouldn't trust him for a full season of being my workhorse, Tampa did due diligence in bringing in Warrick Dunn and retaining Michael Bennett so they can spread around the carries on 3 sets of legs, 4 if Williams comes back from torn patellar tendons some time this year. The line has skill on the strong side with Jeremy Trueblood and Guard Davin Joseph. However, the line get progressively shakier as you go along it, from Trueblood to Joseph then center Jeff Faine, left guard Arron Sears, and finally blindside protector and physical failure Luke Petitgout. This could pose problems in the running game, and the top tight ends on the roster aren't exactly maulers, so teams may overload the right side to stuff up their run. Their defensive line is lackluster. Second year speed rusher Gaines Adams expects to start on one end, preferably the weak side for performances sake, opposite tackle machine Marques Douglas. The middle of their line is Hovan and Jovan with middle of the road although well rounded Chris Hovan starting next to Jovan Haye, an ideal three technique with a nose for the ball carrier even when its the quarterback. The linebackers aren't a spectacular set, with experienced Cato June and Derrick Brooks (it's experienced when you're still good, old when you aren't) on the outsides and high energy nonstop motor middle man Barrett Ruud, who excels at chasing plays down. Defensive backs Tanard Jackson, Jermaine Phillips, Phillip Buchanon and Ronde Barber return to start another season, and first round pick Aqib Talib might get the nickel duties as a talented inexperienced player. All said and done, expect a healthy regular season but nothing playoff wise.

Panthers- More question marks riddling this team than the Riddlers suit. Jake Delhomme had Tommy John surgery this offseason. For those of us who don't know what that is (presumably and NFL fan and not so much baseball) when your ulnar colateral ligament in the elbow gets so frayed or torn it needs to be replaced, that's the name of the procedure. It's replaced with another one from somewhere in your body, and threaded into the bone in your elbow in a figure eight pattern. He had a spectacular three games last season before going under the knife. His ability to lead the team is in doubt, but only from a physical standpoint. The backfield has more than enough talent with former 1st rounder DeAngelo Williams and new first rounder Jonathan Stewart. LaBrandon Toefield lurks as the third back, and in that capacity, hes fantastic. Mighty Mouse esque wideout Steve Smith should be good for elite production again, and Mushin Muhammad has great knowledge and hands, capable of hauling in first down passes when they're needed. The tight ends have no impact on this offense aside from taking on linebackers and getting them out of the way. Jordan Gross spearheads a talented set of men in the trenches, being one of the top protectors in the league. Travelle Wharton stays at left guard, and Ryan Kalil will take over the line adjustments at center. Keydrick Vincent, former raven, is penciled in as the starter at right guard which may be a bit unsettling, but he has started before and wasn't terrible. Rookie silverback gorrilla Jeff Otah is slated at right tackle, where he can focus on using his 340 pounds to blow opposing linemen away. The defense loses talented nose tackle Kris Jenkins to an offseason trade to New York, thrusting the middle of the line into a much more rotation committee oriented situation. Julius Peppers transitioned to the weakside to alleviate some of the attention payed to him last season, moving Charles Johnson into a starting role in Peppers' old strong side role. Athletic weakside backer Landon Johnson comes over from Cinci and figures to start right away, since Thomas Davis is now playing the strong side after manning the weakside spot the last two seasons. Productive second year player Jon Beason will start in the middle, although long term he might move to the strong side to make room for Dan Connor, Penn State alum and tackler extraordinaire. Chris Gamble and Ken Lucas are on the outside again and provide trouble for opposing receivers, and Nate Salley and the vastly underrated Chris Harris are deep. Harris figures to intimidate even the toughest of receivers over the middle, helping a pass defense that wasn't terrible last season. An intimidating defense and a possible smash mouth running game. How wonderful for the traditionalists.

Falcons- lol. the only thing lul worthy besides the Dolphins. Michael Turners tackle breaking ability won't go unheralded on a team that will need to look for ANYTHING positive to focus on when media gets on them for Chris Redman possibly starting, or Tyson Clabo and Harvey Dahl starting, or the whole Joe Horn thing. Turner might churn out a decent season but on this offseason I wouldn't anticipate anything great. Redman should start so as to not give Matt Ryan the David Carr treatment (before you call it insane, think about it: highly sought after athletic Quarterback taken high and thrown behind a pop warner O-Line). Laurent Robinson and Roddy White starting on the outside leaves Ryan devoid of options for this season, although the same duo for next year could be not too bad given the athleticism. Alge Crumpler, the checkdown option of years past, is gone. After years of being miscast as athletic QB Mike Vick's big weapon, he'll now hold down the same role for Vince Young. The line is almost saddening, really, after the team decided Kynan Forney and Todd Weiner weren't nasty enough to start this season. Sam Baker steps in as the starting left tackle, and while he isn't terribel, he shouldn't have been the 21st overalll selection and probably shouldn't start this early in his career. Harvey Dahl is also an unimpressive starter in the trenches, another mistake made by Atlanta's management. While sending a motivational message to your more talented players can work positively, it hits a point where you're making a mistake by actually giving the job to someone who frankly isn't qualified. The defensive line has Jamaal Anderson, second year weakside rusher from Arkansas and John Abraham on the outside, with Jonathan Babineaux and Grady Jackson in the middle of their line to do their best against the inside rushing of the rest of the division (Stewart, Graham and McAllister). Linebacking returns Strong Side starter Michael Boley and Keith Brooking to the weakside with god knows who in the middle. Curtis Lofton out of Oklahoma is the guy who should be starting there, but as we've already learned, the best choice doesn't always actually get the yob in ATL. The defensive backfield is just as much a trainwreck as the rest of the team, with David Irons/Brent Grimes, former Euro League Defensive Player of the Year starting opposite Chris Houston on the outside and Lawyer Milloy whittling away his years till AARP membership as the Atlanta starting strong safety. Erik Coleman will return as the one little piece of good in the giant turd that is this defense, although one has to wonder why he left New York for this team in free agency two years ago. There's a reason that the road to Atlanta is the road less traveled. If you're a Falcon fan, just pray to whoever your god may be, or Stephen Hawking if you're atheist, that they don't start Matt Ryan this year and cause him to lose both kidneys from staying behind that kind of blocking. 70 million dollars down the drain.