New Orleans Saints' Turbulent Offseason Opens Door for Falcons in NFC South

The New Orleans Saints are stealing all of the 2012 offseason headlines with the Bounty-gate scandal and, more recently, the alleged eavesdropping allegations. 

The Saints were hammered by the NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell, losing two second-round draft picks, head coach Sean Payton being suspended for one season, and defensive coordinator Greg Williams suspended indefinitely. 

In addition, general manager Mickey Loomis is suspended for eight games, and is currently under fire for a totally unrelated scandal, eavesdropping on opposing coaches from 2002 to 2004. 

The NFL still has to hand down penalties towards the players, which could come shortly.

Players from that bounty system from 2009 to 2011 could also be suspended, according to ESPN, pending review from the NFL players association and Goodell. 

The Saints' lack of leadership will hurt them in the upcoming season. Interim coach Joe Vitt is suspended for the first six games of the 2012 season. Having multiple "interim" coaches shows a sign of instability. 

The Saints players don't know who is in charge. It's not Payton. It's not Vitt. It's not Loomis. Saints owner Tom Benson remains quiet. 

In the competitive NFC South, all these distractions and the failing leadership in the Saints organization leaves the door wide open for the Atlanta Falcons to re-take the NFC South throne in 2012.  

The Falcons already have a solid core that will advance to the postseason many times, with Matt Ryan, Michael Turner, Roddy White, Julio Jones and John Abraham leading the way.

Atlanta also added depth to their offensive line in the draft. The Falcons shored up their main weaknesses in the offseason—the offensive line (draft) and secondary (through a trade). 

The Falcons lost linebacker Curtis Lofton in free agency to the Saints, but he struggled mightily in defending the pass. Even with the loss of Lofton, the Falcons improved their defense with the trade for cornerback Asante Samuel and the signing of linebacker Lofa Tatupu.

Samuel gives the Falcons an elite corner to play opposite Pro Bowl corner Brent Grimes to try to contain Drew Brees and the explosive Saints passing game.  

Brees set the single-season passing record last year. It's critical to be able to match up one-on-one against some of the Saints elite weapons, namely Marques Colston and Jimmy Graham.

The Saints have the Falcons number right now, winning 10 of the past 12 meetings, but soon that will change. 

Six of the past seven games in the series were decided by a touchdown or less. The 45-16 shellacking in New Orleans at the end of last year was the exception. 

The Falcons have all the pieces in place for an NFC South crown in 2012, and the Saints' turbulent offseason allows Atlanta the opportunity to reclaim the division crown.