Impressions from Other NFC South Teams

[Seltzer]

Saints:

Not really going to pay much attention to the offensive woes early on since Brees wasn't playing.  Hard to see where their big plays are going to come from outside of Brandin Cooks though, but he did look good.  Saints are going to move the ball with Brees, but not having Graham or Stills is going to hurt their big play potential.  I've heard it said that the Saints even internally have noticed a decline on Brees on the deep ball and are going to move more towards a power running game.  Unger looked good, surprising to see how bad Jahri Evans looked.  I think the CJ Spiller "knee procedure" may end up being a lot more problematic than they are letting on.  Man, the Saints have really whiffed with FA and the contracts they have given lately (Graham, Gallette, Byrd, Spiller).

On defense, they looked disorganized and got absolutely manhandled by the Ravens.  Their first rounder Stephone Anthony looked pretty good, but I thought their second rounder Hau'oli Kikaha looked very small and lost out there.  They've got high expectations for him as the Junior Gallette replacement, but it's hard to see him being much of a pass rush threat, and with Cameron Jordan being always hot/cold (although he seems to have good games against us), it looks like Brees is going is going to have to carry the team again.  Their secondary looked bad, but at this point I don't know who could possibly look good back there in Rob Ryan's convoluted retarded scheme.  I can only hope they continue to keep him as their DC for years to come.  Jarius Byrd looks like another FA bust.  

Lastly, I am astounded by the commitment Saints fans have to Mickey Loomis.  He was/ is a terrible GM.  Hiring Sean Payton and signing Drew Brees has been an unbelievable deodorant. Bad drafts, bad FA signings, and bad contracts prevented them from winning another SB from 2010- 2013.  Their window started closing last year, and I think this year will prove that.  I wonder if things go real bad south this year in NO if Brees won't want a chance to try to win another title somewhere else.

 

Falcons:

Their fans have to be excited this week.  Dan Quinn seemed to have the team ready to play, and they came out on fire out of the gate.  If Julio Jones doesn't get 15 targets a game, the Falcons are doing it wrong.  Justin Hardy (4th Rounder) looks like he could be a good replacement for Harry Douglas.  Roddy White is definitely past his prime, but he's not garbage either.  Their WR corp is still strong (probably the best in NFC South), although not as formidable as a few years back with they still had Gonzales.  Their offensive line still has question marks (even more so than the Panthers IMO).  Their running backs have been banged up and are nothing special.  Matt Ryan is a top 10 QB when he has time, but he might have the least amount of mobility of any QB outside of Peyton Manning.  Not exactly news, but pressuring Ryan is the way to shut them down.

The Falcons looked a look better on defense.  Jonathan Babineaux and Justin Durant both looked good.  The Falcons are high on Vic Beasley, but I wonder how he will fare long term as small as he is (246 lb).  He obviously has the speed, but I question spending the number 8 pick in the draft on a guy who may only be a pass rushing specialist.  Time will tell.  Much like Mario Addison, he has to win right at the snap b/c he's not going to do much if a 320 lineman gets his hands on him.  Overall, the Falcons defensive line and linebackers are a question mark.  The corners are good, with the Falcons saying Desmond Trufant has Richard Sherman potential playing for Dan Quinn.  The safeties (like the Panthers) are nothing special.  The fact that Charles Godfrey still stands a good chance of getting a roster spot should tell you what you need to know.

Overall, I think the Falcons are a very real threat to the Panthers for the division.  I think Falcon fans are going to look back in a few years and realize Mike Smith was a much better coach than he is being given credit for now, but it's hard to argue the switch to Quinn wasn't the right move.  With Matt Ryan and Julio Jones in their primes, if Quinn can develop a couple of superstars on defense their window could be back open.

 

Buccaneers:

I saw very little of this game, so most of this is based on just keeping up with the team's message board, beat writers, etc.  On offense, Jameis Winston is and looks like a rookie playing behind a bad offensive line.  And the Demar Dotson injury didn't help, although it sounds like they dodged a bullet there and he will only miss a few games.  Mike Evans and Vincent Jackson are what we hope Kelvin Benjamin and Devin Funchess become (and mostly Funchess b/c KB is already 95% there) at the WR position.  This group would be talked about more if they had solid QB play.  The problem remains having someone who can and has the time to throw them the ball.  Winston can make the throws, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him throw some up under pressure.  Doug Martin supposedly looks like he did as a rookie.  If they can fix the O-line, I think they could be alright.  But man they looked bad from what I saw and read.

On defense, the Bucs have IMO the most talent of any team in the division behind the Panthers.  Gerald McCoy is the only player besides Luke with a Hall of Fame trajectory.  In fact, their entire DT depth is awesome (Clinton McDonald, Henry Melton, Tony McDaniel).  Unfortunately, as good as their DT depth is, they have absolutely no talent at DE.  Seriously, they resigned Da'Quan Bowers!!  Their linebacker corp is underrated.  Lavonte David is obviously a Pro-Bowl/ All-Pro talent, and it looks like Kwon Alexander at MLB may have been a steal in the 4th Round.  They should have a better secondary based on the number of draft picks and FA dollars they have invested there.  If the Bucs can manufacturer a pass rush, the rest of the defense is serviceable to well above average.

I wonder how much rope Lovie Smith gets if the Bucs struggle again this year.  He certainly came in with a lot of fan fare, but he is looking a lot more like a retread coach than a defensive mastermind who just needed a year sabbatical.  

[hepcat]

This could be the year we finally watch the Saints implode.  Another losing record and this could be Payton's last year.  But Drew Brees is still an elite QB and could squeeze out a fantastic season.  But that all depends if the defense is still as bad as last year (especially after losing some of their best players), because then even heroic play by Brees won't be enough to make the playoffs.  I have them finishing last in the NFC South at 6-10.

The Falcons are definitely on the up and are the biggest threat to win the division besides the Panthers.  Ryan still has Julio Jones but like you said their offensive line hasn't improved.  But there is no way their defense will be ranked last in the NFL again so I expect them to be around .500 or better...

The Bucs are interesting.  They have a ton of talent but a rookie QB who will make a bunch of mistakes.  I think even if they struggle they'll keep Lovie around for one more season.  Gotta let Winston take his lumps and develop, can't expect him to deliver a winning season his rookie year.  But I actually think they'll finish third in the division above the Saint because they have an incredibly under-rated defense.  I think the defense is close to top 10 and the Bucs push to be around 7-9.

[KB_fan]

Really nice write up.  Would give you triple pie if I could - one for each team's analysis.

The only game I've watched in full so far is the Saints.  One other threat from them seemed to be Murphy.  Great returner.

Atlanta:  I've watched the condensed version of the 1st half.  They look pretty dangerous, and I agree with all you wrote.  I think they'll be our toughest competition in the division.

Bucs: I've only quickly scanned through the game. What you wrote seems a pretty fair assessment.  Winston's being given a huge challenge.  I expect growing pains.

[X-Clown on 1]

Tampa Bay looked like:

[Seltzer]

To me, Lovie looks like he thinks he should be praised for just getting a team to show up in Tampa.  He has done absolutely nothing in over a year that would excite me as a fan.

If I were a Falcons fan, at least I would be excited by Dan Quinn.  That team still has question marks, but man they looked hungry to be out there.  Gerald McCoy to me is the only Tampa player that has consistently looked like he wants to be out there the last few years.  I'm honestly surprised he resigned there (although the money was incredible).

[Snake]

Watched the whole say saints game and to be honest the offense looked sloppy without Brees and the Defense is still a hot mess.  Browner didn't disappoint with his every game PI call. Brees def has his work cut out for him this year. 

[L-TownCat]

In the spirit of this thread I would like to analyze the NFCS as well.  No need to have another thread, so here we go.

1) ATL:  total ass

2) NO: Complete and utter trash

3) TB: unmitigated, unadulterated, MRSA infested swamp bile.

 

There ya go.  Whew, that was a lot of work.

[PandaPancake]

Tampa Bay looked like:

 

This made reading all of that worth it.

[KB_fan]

Tampa Bay looked like:

YES!!!  BINGO!  The NFCSouth GIF Twitter war revisited.    Too cool.  Now if only I knew where to find the Pianoplaying Cat GIF...

[WOW!!]

Atlanta played the worst team of the 3 and good beating a rookie in his 1st game time action. 

[Seltzer]

In the spirit of this thread I would like to analyze the NFCS as well.  No need to have another thread, so here we go.

1) ATL:  total ass

2) NO: Complete and utter trash

3) TB: unmitigated, unadulterated, MRSA infested swamp bile.

 

There ya go.  Whew, that was a lot of work.

Why didn't you just post this first... you would have saved me a lot of work!!

[GeorgiaBoyz]

Nice write up & a fair assessment. I like it. 

[GRWatcher]

Cam Newton's Towel ‏@CamNewtonTowel  Aug 16

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers visited an orphanage in Tampa today. "Its heartbreaking to see their sad faces with no hope" said Bobby, age 6.