Division Talk: NFC South
The NFC South has two teams that can win the division outright. The Saints and the Bucs will battle for the title of King of the South but only one will prevail. Full disclosure I am a Saints fan so there will be no bias at all when writing this.
Atlanta Falcons:
Welp, this team stinks. I do not mean that in a mean way (well kind of in a mean way) there is just not much to like about the team. Kyle Pitts will be great but the O line is bad and there is no running game to speak of. Defensively, obviously, Grady Jarrett is a monster and also my favorite defensive linemen in the league, he just does everything right and balls out every week. Then I mean A.J. Terrell is good-ish but would like to see more in 2022. At the end of the day, this team will win 3 games and finish in last place.
Carolina Panthers:
This team is sneaky, like really sneaky. They got Shaq Thompson, Brian Burns and Jaycee horn on defense making life hell for any offense. Shaq Thompson is unbelievably good at football so he alone is enough to win them a game or two. Then on offense, they replaced Sam Darnold with Baker Mayfield who seems to have found a home in Carolina according to camp reports. D.J. Moore is going to do his thing while Christian McCaffery will do his thing if he is healthy (that is a big IF though). HOWEVER, Matt Rhule is still the coach which it’s like.... why? There is no chance this team will win eight games this season based on that fact alone. 5-6 wins are where the Panthers will end up and they securely have 3rd place in the division.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers:
DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT YELLING AT ME! They are in their second or third-string center which is a detrimental blow to an offensive line that lost Alex Cappa in free agency. Brady will obviously have a great year because he is Brady, there is no argument against it. This team is still very good especially defensively after adding Akiem Hicks. BUT, I don’t think the offense will be as potent without Bruce Ariens. That is not to say Todd Boles won’t be a great head coach because I think he will but his background has been defense. Brady and Boles can scheme things up but I just don’t see them being a 13-win team this season. Maybe around 10-11 wins.
New Orleans Saints
Remember when I said I would not show bias? Well, I lied! WHO DAT! WHO DAT! WHO DAT SAY THEY GONNA BEAT THEM SAINTS!!! JAMEIS WINSTON COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR AND SUPER BOWL MVP!!! Mike Thomas is back, no like ALL the way back so tell your favorite DB to start crying now. AK is coming for everyone’s next now that he won’t have to be the focal point of the offense like last season. Then we added Chris Olave and Jarvis Landry to the mix??? Good luck making a defensive gameplan. But Evan, the Saints much like the Bucs are going from an offensive to a defensive coach why are you not using the same argument? That’s an easy answer. Did Todd Boles shut out Tom Brady on home field with Taysom Hill as his QB? No. But Dennis Allen did. This brings me to the defense! Already a top 10 unit then add Tyrann Mathieu to that bunch as well as Paulson Adebo who is making great strides heading into his second season. Then on the opposite side of the field, you got Marshon Lattimore locking up your favorite receiver week in and week out. Ceedy Deuce is obviously bringing the juice while simultaneously making plays while Cam Jordan and company make your quarterback run for his life. All of that talent and I haven’t even mentioned my favorite defensive player in the league and the best linebacker in the league DEMARIO DAVIS. This team’s ceiling is 12-13 wins and I don’t want to hear “But Jameis is your quarterback” because that is just a lazy argument. HOWEVER, being a fan of this team for so long I know that this team could easily win only eight games this season. But I will remain confident until proven otherwise!
Falcons photo credit: Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports
Panthers photo credit: AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman
Buccaneers photo credit: AP Photo/Danny Karnik
Saints photo credit: Sean Gardner/Getty Images
Evan Hale - the Halftimers Podcast/ Olde City Sports Network
