Atlanta Falcons: New Orleans Saints' Woes Leave the Door Open in the NFC South

Sean Payton. Joe Vitt. Mickey Loomis.

Jon Vilma. Will Smith.

They all have one thing in common: They are suspended for all or part of the 2012 season.

The Saints also lost their second-round draft pick both this year and next, and they will miss out on two impact players because of that as well.

The suspensions came in waves, first with Payton, Loomis and Vitt. Then it Vilma and Smith were suspended after. These players and coaches were all involved in the bounty scandal that is explained below:

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Commissioner Roger Goodell notified the New Orleans Saints today of the discipline that will be imposed on team management for violations of the NFL's long-standing "bounty" rule that endangered player safety over a three-year period.

Discipline for individual players involved in the Saints' prohibited program continues to be under review with the NFL Players Association and will be addressed by Commissioner Goodell at a later date. The program included "bounty" payments for "knock-outs" and "cart-offs," plays on which an opposing player was forced to leave the game. At times, the bounties even targeted specific players by name.

The NFL's extensive investigation established the existence of an active bounty program on the Saints during the 2009, 2010, and 2011 seasons in violation of league rules, a deliberate effort to conceal the program's existence from league investigators, and a clear determination to maintain the program despite express direction from Saints ownership that it stop as well as ongoing inquiries from the league office.

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Sean Payton got taken out for the year. Loomis and Vitt were luckier, as they only got eight- and six-game punishments, respectively.

The players weren't treated much differently, as Vilma and Smith, the defensive captains, both were punished.

Vilma got a year, and Smith is gone for the first four games.

But to top all of this off, Vilma's loss is going to be the most crucial. He is the captain and emotional leader of the defense, and he was the guy who would change the defense up based on offensive calls.

Last year, when the Saints played the Falcons, the Falcons' largest issues came when QB Matt Ryan tried to audible to a different play, but Vilma knew what to call to counteract it.

With a new defensive coordinator and starting middle linebacker for the defense, the Saints will not be able to run the same kind of audibles on defense this year.

Another issue the Falcons had last year was how Drew Brees would tear apart the Atlanta defense. Brees is also having issues with the Saints this year as far as even being under contract with the team and being the guy who will lead them into the fire without Payton for a year.

Brees got franchised back in March, and he did not like the idea of being franchised again. It's been almost three months, and Brees and the Saints are reportedly still miles apart on a new contract:

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The New Orleans Saints and quarterback Drew Brees are not any closer to a contract extension and have made little progress on a long-term deal, a person familiar with the negotiations told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.

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Without Payton, Vilma and Brees, the Saints would be conceding the NFC South to another team, more than likely to the Falcons.

Of the rest of the teams in the division, the Falcons are the ones who are next in line for the long-term throne. 

Atlanta has an offense led by Pro Bowler Ryan, and he has weapons in Roddy White, Julio Jones, Tony Gonzalez and Harry Douglas who can stretch the defense in New Orleans. The Falcons also have the defense this year, and they're led by Mike Nolan, whose schemes will end up giving the Falcons a much better defensive plan to attack other teams.

Atlanta was a playoff team in 2010 and 2011, and the Falcons are looking to repeat again. They will be much better than they were in the 2011 season, with the new additions of Peter Konz, Asante Samuel and a linebacker who can actually cover in Lofa Tatupu.

With a pair of new coordinators and talented additions to both the offense and defense, the Falcons are going to be primed for the next move up the ladder. The Saints are falling off their perch, and the Falcons are the one team who can "Rise Up" to get there.