Atlanta Falcons: The Falcons 2012 season ended in heartbreak when they blew a huge lead in the NFC Championship game and lost to the 49ers. This year, the Falcons look to redeem themselves and they have definitely made the necessary moves to improve as a team. The prized acquisition for them this offseason was veteran running back Steven Jackson. Jackson gives them a huge improvement over incumbent Michael Turner, who was sluggish through all of last season. Jackson is a dual threat with great-pass catching abilities as well as being a consistently-productive rusher. Jackson has the same skill set as Turner in his prime only better, which could make this already high-powered Falcons offense that much more scary. While there is no question the power of the Falcons offense with the addition of Jackson, Matt Ryan at the helm and arguably the best receiving tandem in the league in Julio Jones, Roddy White and Tony Gonzalez, the Falcons defense is a bit suspect. Aside from their wildly underrated safeties William Moore and Thomas DeCoud, the Falcons defense is pretty weak. For some unknown reason, they didn't really do much to address their defense in either the draft or free agency despite finishing near the bottom of the league in both passing and rushing defense last year. The two big moves they made (drafting cornerback Desmond Trufant and signing defensive end Osi Umenyiora) are far from guaranteed fixes. Trufant has been up-and down thus far and has a lot to work on if he wants to be a solid corner, while Umenyiora was once elite and can still get to the quarterback every once and a while, but the Falcons essentially just replaced one aging, formely dominant pass rusher (they cut ties with defensive end John Abraham in March) for another one. However if the Falcons can sure up their defense this year, they have as good of a shot to win the NFC as anyone.
Carolina Panthers:The Panthers ended 2012 on a hot streak winning 5 out of their last 6 games and finishing in 2nd place behind the Falcons in the super-competitive NFC South. That finish paired with the make-or-break season for head coach Ron Rivera makes the Panthers one of the most exciting teams to watch this season. The Panthers clearly run through Newton and I expect him to only get better this year. His numbers through his first two years are absolutely outstanding and the growth he showed in the second half of the year after a slow start is very promising going forward in his career. Really the only thing that is holding Newton back from being an undisputed top-flight quarterback is the overall lack of weapons surrounding him. Aside from longtime Panthers number 1 wideout Steve Smith and tight end Greg Olsen, he has no trustworthy options throw to. Brandon LaFell is not talented enough to be a number 2 wideout in this league and new additions Dominik Hixion and Ted Ginn. Jr are of comparable skill levels to LaFell and unless a miracle happens, are not going to be threats in this offense. Newton has gotten by with this problem before and it doesn't deter too much from the excitement surrounding this team this year. Adding to the Panthers promise, is a defense on the rise that is loaded with young talent. Defensive ends Charles Johnson and Greg Hardy have quietly become two of the best pass-rusher in the game, rookie Star Loutlelei has been killing it so far and looks to be every bit the run-stuffing menace he was touted to be going into the draft and of course, inside linebacker Luke Kuchely is hoping to build off his monster rookie year and solidify himself as one of the best inside linebackers in the game. Really the only not to like about the defense going forward, is the inexperienced secondary. Neither Captain Munnerlyn or Josh Thomas have started as pros, which could lead to a vulnerable secondary throughout the year if they don't adjust well to the increased workload. The Panthers have a difficult schedule this year and they still may be a year or two away from being contenders, but there are a lot of nice pieces falling into place for this young football team.
New Orleans Saints: New Orleans is probably set to have a second Mardi Gras this year with Sean Payton returning to the helm as coach of the Saints after being suspended for all of last season for the bounty scandal. The impact Payton had on this team is evident from the struggles they had last season in his absence. Their offense while still efficient, was not running on all cylinders and the less said about their defensive play last season, the better. With Payton returning, the Saints should pick up right where they left off after the 2011 season. Another reason for Saints fans to rejoice this season is the team went out and loaded up on defensive pickups in the offseason to try and improve a defense that allowed the most yards in a single season in NFL history. Kennan Lewis is a monumental upgrade at corner and actually gives the team a legit talent they can build around, Parys Haralson has been one of the most underrated linebackers in the league during his years with the 49ers and brings explosiveness that this defense desperately needs and their first-round pick Kenny Vaccaro is one of the most promising players in the entire 2013 draft class who has the potential to be one of the best and most intimidating safeties in the league. The Saints aren't perfect by any means, but they still have more than enough talent offensively to make it to the playoffs this season.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Like the rest of the division, the Buccaneers are loaded with promise and intrigue headed into the 2013 season. The biggest reason for excitement in Tampa this season is the complete revamping of the secondary that finished dead last in the league in 2012. The Bucs landed Darrelle Revis in a trade with the Jets and picked up top-flight safety Dashon Goldson from the 49ers. Unless Revis is a shell of his former self after the torn ACL last season and Goldson all of a sudden softens up his hard-hits and pass-coverage skills, I fully expect this to be a much-improved unit. With the new talent in the secondary paired with an absolutely loaded front seven (they were the number 1 run defense in 2012,) they have all the makings of a potential top-10 defense this season. Offensively, their success is going to lie solely on the play of quarterback Josh Freeman. This is a make-or-break season in a contract year for Freeman. His play at times last year was outstanding, but he had an abysmal second half and continued to make the mistakes that have hampered his NFL career thus far. He's got more than enough have talent around with a pair of standout receivers (Vincent Jackson and Mike Williams) one of the most promising young running backs in the league in Doug Martin and a great offensive line that provides him ample protection to make plays. His future as a starter in the NFL and with the Buccaneers, all rides on his play this season. The Buccaneers have a clear abundance of talent and could end up being a surprise playoff team if everything clicks consistently.
Projected Standings for the NFC South:
1.Atlanta Falcons (11-5)
2.New Orleans Saints (10-6)
3.Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-8)
4.Carolina Panthers (8-8)
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