Atlanta Falcons: The Falcons made a rapid decline in 2013, finishing 4-12 after falling just short of a Super Bowl berth in 2012. While the Falcons are unlikely to be as bad as they were in 2013, I also highly doubt they'll be back to Super Bowl-contending, let alone playoff-contending form in 2014. This team simply does not have the defensive firepower or talent on the offensive line to be a great team in the increasingly competitive NFC. he Falcons did make some improvements in these areas by bringing in veteran defensive tackle Paul Soliai, guard Jon Ashmoah and using their first two draft picks on promising prospects in tackle Jake Matthews and defensive tackle/end Ra'Shede Hageman, but I don't think these pickups will be enough to fix the gaping holes they have at these positions. The offensive line is especially bothersome as they were nothing short of abysmal in 2013. Their lack of protection gave quarterback Matt Ryan practically no time to make reads and forced him to rush a lot of his throws, which led to him to finish with a career-high 17 INT's on the year. Matthews and Ashmoah need to come in and desperately change the fabric of this offensive line because none of the incumbent lineman played even remotely well a year ago. The Falcons also have a huge problem in the backfield as last year's high-profile free agent pickup Steven Jackson was injured for most of the year and looked terrible during the few times he made it onto the field. The team drafted Devonta Freeman, who has looked promising in the preseason, but he doesn't look like he has the skills to be an every-down back in the NFL. If Jackson continue to struggle with production and health and Freeman doesn't break out, The Falcons are going to be doomed in the rushing game yet again. Any chance the Falcons have at making a surprise run back to the playoffs lies squarely on the shoulders of Ryan. Ryan is a guy who doesn't get nearly enough credit for his accomplishments and is one of the very few quarterbacks in the league that can take over a game at will. Ryan was able to throw for over 4,500 yards in 2013 without a healthy Julio Jones or Roddy White for a majority of the year. With Jones and White back in the fold at 100%, Ryan is bound to improve from his already gaudy numbers from a year ago. The Falcons are no longer the threat they were just a few years ago, and will be lucky to finish on the right side of .500 in 2014.
Carolina Panthers: Pretty much the only story that has come out of Carolina this offseason is the fact that the Panthers let their top four wideouts (Steve Smith, Brandon LaFell, Ted Ginn Jr, Dominik Hixon) walk. While the receiver loss certainly doesn't help matters, I believe it will be the offensive line losses and Cam Newton's bum ankle that will prevent the Panthers from recreating their magical 2013 playoff run. 3/5 of the Panthers' starting offensive lineman- most notably three-time Pro Bowl tackle Jordan Gross- retired over the past months, leaving the team with quite the conundrum at the offensive line going into this year. Aside from center Ryan Kalil, none of the current starters can be trusted. The other returning starter, Byron Bell, is shifting to left tackle after playing right tackle during his first three years in the league while new starting right tackle Nate Chandler is a converted defensive lineman who is still learning the position after a stint starting at guard at the end of last year. The play of Bell, Chandler and rookie Trai Turner is going to be the deciding factor of whether or not this offense can get off the ground. The effect of the new receivers on this offense can not be entirely downplayed either. Save for tight end Greg Olsen, Newton does not have a rapport with any of these receivers, which could lead to some serious growing pains early in the year. Rookie Kelvin Benjamin has far exceeded expectations in training camp and the preseason thus far, but the Panthers are going to need at least one of their new veteran receiving options (Jericho Cotchery, Jason Avant, Ed Dickson) to step up and take pressure off Benjamin. While there's plenty of concerns with the Panthers this year, none is greater than Newton's health. Newton is coming off major offseason ankle surgery and has not looked like himself in the preseason thus far. To make matters even worse, Newton cracked a rib during last week's preseason game against the Patriots. Newton is the backbone of this team and if he can't overcome these injuries, you can kiss any playoff dreams this team out the window. The Panthers are once again going to be carried by their defense. Even though they have to assemble a patchwork secondary for the second year in a row, this defense will be unstoppable force thanks to their loaded front seven. Reigning Defensive Player of the Year Luke Kuechly and the best defensive end duo in the NFL in Charles Johnson and Greg Hardy- who is basically the only free agent the Panthers retained this season- cause a ton of matchup problems for anyone that faces them and are good enough by themselves to keep this team in games regardless of how the offense performs. If Newton can overcome the personnel and health obstacles that have been thrown at him and this defense can remain dominant, the Panthers could be squarely in the playoff picture once again.
New Orleans Saints: The New Orleans Saints are the NFC version of the New England Patriots: There isn't a lot of change year in and year out and the team is going to always going to be competitive thanks to stellar quarterback play and coaching. The Saints are in a position to be even better in 2014 thanks to a couple of big pickups that further improved their talent-dense squad. The Saints were strapped for cap space this year, but still managed to make one major move by landing safety Jarius Byrd in free agency. Byrd gives the already stacked Saints secondary a game-changing safety with elite range and ball skills to place alongside rising star Kenny Vaccaro. Safe to say, Rob Ryan is going to have a field day with Byrd in this defense and it would be a complete shock if this unit didn't finish in the top five in pass defense once again in 2014. While Ryan has turned this defense into a pretty solid unit, the centerpiece of the Saints remains Drew Brees and the passing offense and they should once again be dominant. Brees' favorite target in tight end Jimmy Graham inked a new, long-term deal that ensures that the duo will be causing a lot of problems not just this year (Graham was previously given the one-year franchise-tag designation before reaching a long-term deal ), but for the foreseeable future. The Saints also further bolstered their receiving corps by picking receiver Brandin Cooks- whose combination of great hands, route-running ability-with their first-round pick in this year's draft. Cooks gives Brees another potentially deadly weapon in his arsenal and could very well end up being the top wideout in the ridiculously deep 2014 draft class. In typical Saints fashion their weaknesses, just like their strengths, remain in tact. The team still has a carousel of mediocre running backs which managed to get even worse after they traded Darren Sproles to the Eagles in the offseason, and they still lack a pure run-stuffer in the front seven, which should caused their run defense to make a return to the bottom half of the league yet again. The Saints have the most talented roster they've had in years and they should be right in the thick of the Super Bowl chase if the injury bug doesn't ravage the team.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: In my humble opinion, no team improved more this offseason than the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. After a 2013 season that was dragged down by the player's disdain for head coach Greg Schiano, the Buccaneers go into 2014 with a new head coach, improved roster and a whole lot of potential to become the surprise team of 2014. The Bucs replaced the hardass Schiano with his polar opposite in soft-spoken, players coach Lovie Smith. Smith not only brings in a new atmosphere that players will happily buy into, he is one of the most brilliant defensive minds in the modern NFL. The Buccaneers defense was already pretty good under Schiano, with Smith and Leslie Fraizer running the show, they should be downright dominant. Smith spent the offseason putting his fingerprints on team by bringing in a lot of pieces Smith broke his defensive-minded ways a bit and made a majority of the offseason moves on the offensive side of the ball. Smith completely overhauled the offensive line bringing in three new starters in center Evan Dietrich-Smith, tackle Anthony Collins and guard Logan Mankins, picked up a new starting quarterback in Josh McCown and using every single one of the team's six draft picks on offensive players. Of course Smith didn't completely ignore the defense as he brought in defensive end Michael Johnson, defensive tackle Clinton McDonald, safety Major Wright and most notably, cornerback Alterraun Verner to make the Buccaneers established defensive corps led by 2013 All-Pros defensive tackle Gerald McCoy and outside linebacker LaVonte David that much stronger. The biggest question mark surrounding the Buccaneers 2014 campaign is how McCown will fare now that he's out of Marc Trestman's quarterback-friendly in Chicago. I don't expect to him be quite as dominant as he was in Chicago, but I believe McCown will do just fine in Tampa Bay. McCown played under Smith for two years in Chicago and has a pair of giant, physical starting wideouts in Vincent Jackson and rookie Mike Evans that bare an eerie resemblance to the receiving duo that led him to great success with the Bears last year. Even if McCown falters or gets hurt, the Bucs have a very promising second-year quarterback in Mike Glennon,-who was one of the few bright spots for this team a year ago-waiting in the wings. If the Bucs happen to call upon him at some point in time this year, Glennon has the potential to be this year's Nick Foles. Between the roster improvements and new coaching staff, the Buccaneers have the tools to make the jump and become a playoff team in 2014.
Projected Standings for the NFC South:
1.New Orleans Saints (12-4)
2.Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-7)
3.Carolina Panthers (9-7)
4.Atlanta Falcons (7-9)
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