Sean Payton Suspension Makes Tampa Bay Buccaneers NFC South Favorites

Sean Payton’s one-year suspension turns the NFC South into a wide-open race. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have the ingredients to swoop in on the division title.

Here are four reasons why the Bucs could make a run at the NFC South Division crown.

Free agents will fill a huge void

The Buccaneers had a ton of money to spend this offseason. They made sure to empty their wallet.

While winning the offseason has never equaled immediate returns, the Bucs had so many holes last season that 2012 should be an exception.

Vincent Jackson joins an offense with plenty of targets to go around and will provide a veteran presence to a relatively young unit. More on this later.

The most impressive addition, however, was former Saints guard Carl Nicks. Tampa Bay desperately needed an upgrade on the offensive line that was often unable to provide running lanes last season. Nicks is a handful for defensive lineman and will be utilized more in an offense that wants to run the ball.

The defense still needs work as it was one of the worst overall in 2011, but they're expected to improve through the draft in three weeks. Recent addition Amobi Okoye will likely get ample opportunities on a defensive line that should see a lot of turnover this offseason. Same for Eric Wright at the defensive back position.

Tampa Bay sought to improve their talent base by spending a ton of money in their pocket. They couldn’t have gotten off to a better start.

Greg Schiano is no Raheem Morris

When the Buccaneers' front-office searched for the next coaching hire, they wanted to make sure their new leader would never lose his team the way Raheem Morris did.

If Greg Schiano fails, his players will still be playing their hearts out for him. The Bucs' new head coach will bring a toughness and stability to the program that San Francisco is experiencing with Jim Harbaugh.

Schiano was known to be a master motivator at Rutgers, exemplified by his transformation of that program from middling to relevant. He loves his lineman to be big and physical up front, similar to how Bill Parcells and Harbaugh like their lines constructed.

In addition, Schiano has always had an eye for talent and gotten the best effort of out them, most notably the NFL-leading rusher Ray Rice and do-it-all fullback Brian Leonard at Rutgers.

In addition, following around Bill Belichick is an added bonus. It can’t hurt to be taking notes on how to be an NFL head coach from the best in the game today.

Greg Schiano will turn around Tampa Bay in its first year. NFL talent is talent, and the head coach will find a way to extract his team’s untapped potential.

Josh Freeman will rebound

It seems so long ago that Josh Freeman was being coronated the next great young NFL quarterback.His sophomore slump last season quieted the critics, but no expectations for 2012 has him poised for a rebound.

He will be out to prove that his 22 interceptions in 2011 were an aberration, and his 25 TD, six-interception season from two years prior is the real deal.

The Bucs failed to upgrade their receiving corps last season, which proved to be a nagging issue for Freeman’s development. The front office threw money at that problem, signing established pass-catcher Vincent Jackson to be the young QB’s favorite target. Jackson will line up alongside Mike Williams, who after being constantly double-teamed last season, will benefit from having another established receiver wearing a Bucs uniform.

If the front office can pick up a pass-blocking back in the draft or free agency (LaGarrette Blount has serious issues pass protecting), then Tampa Bay will have added a new downfield element. They should be a threat to put up points against their offensive-driven division rivals every week.

The NFC South is a Topsy Turvy Division

Predicting playoff teams in NFC South has been one of the easiest bets in the past decade; all you had to do was pick the team who finished last the previous season.

Ever since the division was created in 2003, the team who had finished last made the NFC playoffs six straight seasons. It wasn’t until three seasons ago that the streak was broken with the Tampa Bay missing out with a 10-6 record.

More odds stack into the Bucs' favor this upcoming season. Only one team in the history of the division has finished last in the NFC South two years in a row. Ditto for the NFC South champion. As a result, the Saints' demise and the Buccaneers' rise has been reinforced by statistics.

These numbers cannot be looked at as fact for prognosticating how the division will shake up. If the trends continue, though, next year could be a surprise one by the bay.