NFC South Preview

No team has been able to win back to back NFC South titles in its whole existence, Tampa Bay will try to change that this season. The story of this division in the off season was the new head coach of the Atlanta Falcons and the rebuilding processes of the Falcons and the Panthers.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Bucs won the division last year with Jeff Garcia leading the way. The off season saw some tension between the Bucs and Garcia when rumors rose that they were interested in trading for Favre. Well Garcia will try to look past that and lead this team. In 2007 he threw 13 scores with 4 picks as his season was injury shortened as he missed time. Garcia will be throwing to Hilliard (62 catches and 1 score), Galloway (57 catches and 6 scores), Clayton (22 catches), and tight end Alex Smith who caught 32 passes and 3 scores. The rushing attack will be lead by Graham who rushed for 898 yards and 10 scores last year. He is a power rusher who will pick up the short yardage. To compliment him will be Cadillac Williams who picked up only 208 yards with 3 scores due to a injury shortened season. The Bucs brought back Warrick Dunn to compliment Graham just in case Cadillac does not recover.

The defense will continue to be the strength of this team and will take the team as far as they can. Brooks will move to outside backer with his 109 tackles and 3 sacks, he is the heart and sole of the team. In the middle stands Ruud who had a break out year with 114 tackles and 2 picks in 2007. The defensive line is back with and looking to build on a strong 2007. Marques Douglas is back at left defensive end with his 71 tackles and 3 sacks, at left DT is Chris Hovan who is starting to decline entering his 9th NFL season. He recorded only 48 tackles and 1 1/2 sacks in 2007. Next to Hovan at right DT is Jovan Haye who had a good 2007 when he recorded 68 tackles and 6 sacks. Rounding out the defensive line is second year right end Gaines Adams. Adams had a good rookie campaign when he recorded 38 tackles and 6 sacks. The line has a second sense getting to the quarterback racking up 16 1/2 sacks with its starters. In the secondary returns Barber, who has to prove he hasnt lost a step entering his 12th NFL season, and Phillip Buchanon. The Bucs open the season right away with two divisional games against the Saints and Falcons. The Bucs should win at least one of those games and start 1-1. The Bucs should finish 2008 with 11-5 record.

Carolina Panthers

The Panthers come into 2008 with many questions surrounding their team. First is their coach who is now on the hot seat. John Fox might be out of a job unless he returns his team to the playoffs this year. Next is the quarterback play. Will Jake Delhomme recover from the injury at full strength. Before being hurt last year Jake threw 8 scores and only 1 pick. He only started 3 games last year, going 2-1 in those games. After he was lost for the game the Panthers struggled and finished 7-9. At running back will be DeAngelo Williams who picked up 717 yards and 4 scores in 2007. He will be looking for a break out year in 2008 and the Panthers will need him to have one if they want a playoff push. The Panthers went out and brought in several receivers to give Jake some weapons. First is DJ Hakett from Seattle (32 catches and 3 scores), and brought back Muhammad to finish his career in Carolina. Hopefully they will take some pressure off of star receiver Steve Smith. With no real help last year teams started to double cover Smith and his numbers dropped to only 87 catches and 7 scores. On defense the Panthers will be leaning on Peppers to return to his sack master ways to get the defense off the field. The secondary will include Ken Lucas (61 tackles and 2 interceptions), and Chris Gamble (47 tackles and 1 interception) at the corners. Chris Harris is the bright spot in this secondary as he was a rock last year recording 96 tackles and 1 interception. The defense will need to get more take aways this year if they want to get more victories in 2008. The Panthers open the season with a hard schedule as they play the Chargers, Bears, and Vikings to start the season. They dont have the fire power to compete with these teams and will start 0-3. Their first victory should come against the rebuilding Falcons in week 4 and then their second against Kansas City in week 5. The Panthers however will not have enough fire power yet and defensive take aways to compete with some of the teams on their schedule and will finish 4-12 and might lose their coach.

Atlanta Falcons

The Falcons enter 2008 officially starting a rebuilding phase. They hired a new head coach in Mike Smith, drafted a quarterback in Matt Ryan and hope they have reloaded their roster with enough young talent to build a winning team. The quarterback battle seems to have been won by rookie Matt Ryan. He will be throwing to Michael Jenkins (53 catches with 4 scores), Roddy White (83 catches with 6 scores), and Hartsock at tight end. The receiving corps is a very young group and will need to mature fast in order for the team to win. The running back position was changed drastically in the off season as the team let go Warrick Dunn and brought in Michael Turner from the Chargers. Turner looks to be the biggest weapon in this offense so if teams stop him the Falcons could be in huge trouble.

On Defense the Falcons still have John Abraham at right defensive end. He will be looking to rebound from a very disappointing 2007 season when he only recorded 32 tackles but did record 10 sacks. He is the strongest part of this defense. With him on the line is Babineaux (44 tackles and 3 sacks), Stanley (29 tackles), and 2nd year player Anderson who recorded 30 tackles in his rookie year. The front line is a very young unit and will need to mature very fast in a division that likes to pound the football. If this unit gets beaten up by the run it could be a long season. Lawyer Millow leads the secondary as the strongest player. He recorded 90 tackles and 2 picks in 2007. The team has a very tough schedule for a young team. The opener against the Lions and then week two match against the Bucs could be the indicator on how the defense handles the run and how the offense can handle strong defenses. I cant see them hanging with these teams so they will start 0-2. I would not be surprised if this team finished 3-13.

New Orleans Saints

This team is the team that will challenge the Bucs for the divisional crown. At quarterback the team brings back Drew Brees who threw 28 scores and only 18 picks. He will be throwing to Lance Moore (32 catches with 2 scores), Colston (98 catches 11 scores), Patten (54 catches and 3 scores), and newly acquired Shockey from the Giants. If he can return to his past glory the Saints will have a deadly receiving corps. The running backs are stacked for the Saints as they return power running back Deuce McAllister who is recovering from knee surgery, and Reggie Bush who gained 581 yards and 4 scores. The knock on Bush is that he bounces the ball outside to much, and is not an power back. He needs another back to compliment him, and with Deuce back he should be a threat once again.

On defense the Saints bring back a very good group. McKenzie comes back at corner after recording 52 tackles and 3 interceptions. The Saints went out and brought in New England corner Randall Gay who was a anchor next to Samuel for so many years. The Saints bring in Jonathan Vilma from the Jets in hope of having a dominating middle line backer. Up front stands Hollis Thomas (50 tackles and 3 sacks), and Will Smith (66 tackles and 7 sacks) This team has the possibilities of going far and should end up with a 12-4 record.

NFC SOUTH PREDICTIONS:

New Orleans Saints 12-4

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 11-5

Carolina Panthers 4-12

Atlanta Falcons 3-13