Weakened NFC South Foes May Help New Orleans Saints Rise In Divisional Standings

The New Orleans Saints found themselves looking up at the NFC South in 2008. Despite an 8-8 record, the Saints finished in last place in a division that featured no teams with a losing record.

The NFC South figures to be competitive once again but the Saints' divisional foes all may not be as strong as a year ago, leaving an opening for possible improvement by New Orleans in 2009.

Carolina represents the stability of the division. The division champs at 12-4 a year ago, the Panthers may return all 11 starters on offense and all but one starter on defense from last season.

The Panthers finished 10th in the league in total yards a year ago, including third in rushing. With tackles Jordan Gross and Jeff Otah creating running lanes, Carolina averaged 152.3 yards on the ground. DeAngelo Williams led the way with 1,515 yards and 18 touchdowns while Jonathan Stewart contributed 836 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Carolina's passing attack was not quite as explosive, averaging 208.5 yards to rank No. 14 in the NFL. Veteran quarterback Jake Delhomme passed for 3,288 yards last season with 15 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

Gross and Delhomme were signed to extensions in the offseason, but there are questions concerning the Carolina offense.

Many remember Delhomme's final game of the season in which he committed six turnovers, including throwing five interceptions, in a 33-13 playoff loss to Arizona. Delhomme played admirably coming off of Tommy John surgery.

The procedure, named after the former major league pitcher, consists of a tendon removed from elsewhere in the body being used to repair damage to the medial elbow. It has been around for a long time in baseball. It's relatively new to football, and no one can really be sure what the long-term prospects might be for an aging quarterback.

All but cornerback Ken Lucas, who was released in a salary-cap move, may return to the Carolina defense in 2009. Always a strong suit of the team, the Panthers' defense was a bit more middle-of-the-road last season, finishing 18th in total defense.

The question surrounding the Carolina defense revolves around star defensive end Julius Peppers. Peppers had 14.5 sacks and 51 tackles but is unhappy with his status with Carolina.

He had the franchise tag placed on him and has let it known the the Panthers that he is unhappy and wants out of Carolina. To date, the Panthers have yet to call Peppers' bluff, but no one knows what lingering affects an unhappy Peppers could have in the locker room.

Carolina invested heavily on defense in the 2009 draft. Having no No. 1 pick, the Panthers traded away their 2010 top pick to obtain Florida State defensive end Everette Brown with the first of their two second-round choices. Four of Carolina's seven draft picks went for defensive picks, including its top three selections.

Matching their 12-4 record of a year ago will be difficult, especially with an overall schedule that is ranked second toughest in the NFL.

Atlanta had a remarkable turnaround in the immediate post-Mike Vick era.

Matt Ryan came in and played like a seasoned pro at quarterback. Able to avoid the struggles even the likes of John Elway an Peyton Manning suffered in their rookie seasons, Ryan passed for 3,440 yards.

Unlike most rookie quarterbacks, Ryan finished with more touchdowns than interceptions in his first season, tossing 16 touchdown passes to only 11 interceptions.

Ryan found a comfort zone in running back Michael Turner. Free from the shadow of LaDainian Tomlinson, Turner finished second in the league in rushing to power NFL's No. 2-ranked rushing offense. The Falcons averaged 152.7 yards on the ground as Turner led the way with 1,699 yards and 17 touchdowns on 576 carries.

To add to the young quarterback's comfort level, the Falcons acquired tight end Tony Gonzalez, giving up only a 2010 second-round pick for one of the all-time greats a the position.

Atlanta's questions are on defense, especially with the losses of linebackers Michael Boley and Keith Brooking. Boley signed with the New York Giants as a free agent. Brooking, a former No. 1 pick out of Georgia Tech, had been the heart and soul of the Falcon defense. He signed with the Dallas Cowboys as a free agent.

The Falcons invested even more heavily on defense than Carolina. Of Atlanta's eight picks, all but one came on the defensive side of the ball. The first five selections went to address the defense, including No.1 pick Peria Jerry, the defensive tackle from Ole Miss.

It remains to be seen if Ryan can avoid a sophomore slump. Regardless, it will be difficult to repeat last year's 11-5 mark as the headline-grabbing Falcons of a year ago will be unable to sneak up on people in 2009.

The anti-Carolina in the division in terms of stability is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Tampa turned heads with the firing of coach Jon Gruden and general manager Bruce Allen following a 9-7 finish last season.

Raheem Morris was named to replace Gruden as coach and he quickly went about a purge of the roster. Morris, 32, jettisoned veteran linebacker Derrick Brooks, running back Warrick Dunn, quarterback Jeff Garcia, wide receiver Joey Galloway and cornerback Philip Buchanan.

The big offseason moves for the Buccaneers was the signing of running back Derrick Ward and trading for Cleveland tight end Kellen Winslow Jr.

With only six picks in the 2009 draft, including no second-round selection, Tampa Bay was limited in trying to fill the void of all the discarded veterans. That's especially true with the drafting of Kansas State quarterback Josh Freeman in the first round.

Freeman is big and strong, but struggled at times at Kansas State. In his defense, he didn't have the best talent around him in college, but neither will he be surrounded with the best in the NFL in Tampa.

With Freeman likely a long-term project, Tampa Bay is looking at two veterans to guide the team in 2009, although both saw limited action last season.

Brian Griese returned to Tampa Bay last season for a second stint with the Buccaneers after spending 2006-2007 seasons in Chicago. He started five games for the Bucs in 2008, tossing for 1,073 yards with five touchdowns and seven interceptions.

Byron Leftwich saw very limited action in only five games as a backup to Ben Roethlisberger in Pittsburgh, attempting only 36 passes while completing 21 for 303 yards.

The teams of the NFC South are likely to beat each other up as a year ago. Unlike the 2008 season, however, the non-divisional portion of the schedule is much tougher. For the Saints to compete in the NFC South in 2009, New Orleans will have to hold its own against divisional rivals while also being competitive against teams from the NFC East and AFC East.