NFC South: The Toughest in Football?

Do you see that tenacious expression on Captain Munnerlyn's face?

I think that personifies the NFC South perfectly.

With the physical run games and exemplary D's, the NFC South is arguably the toughest conference in the NFL.

Now, give the NFC East and AFC South their due, but none of those teams, at their core, are as physical as any (OK, well, maybe the Saints) of the teams in the NFC South.

Every team in this division has a chance at the playoffs.

Atlanta, Carolina, Tampa Bay, and New Orleans all feature dynamic offenses and punishing D's that can, respectively, make any opposing linebacker or QB wet himself.

I am a Carolina fan, so my slant will be a little different than someone from Saintsland or Hotlanta, but the Big Cats from Charlotte, as of right now, appear to have the best team.

From DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart, to Julius Peppers (for now) and Jon Beason, I would be willing to sack this team up with any other in the NFC.

But, I will say that Atlanta and Tampa Bay are very close.

These two both have terrific defenses and, provided Ryan doesn't experience a sophomore slump and Kellen Winslow performs like he's being paid, well above-average offenses.

The Saints appear to be the weakest link in the division, but another big season from Brees and a Reggie Bush offensive explosion could change that.

When you take a good hard look at this division, it arguably has two of the top-five teams in the NFC in the form of the Panthers and Falcons.

I could see, for the second consecutive season, the Wild Card coming from this division with standings looking something like this:

1. 11-5 Carolina Panthers
2. 10-6 Atlanta Falcons
3.  9-7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
4.  7-9 New Orleans Saints

Now, this is still only May, but any time you have this many teams coming off, at the very least, OK seasons, you stand a very good chance of seeing an extremely exciting 2009 campaign.

The types of teams all of these teams are going to be seeing twice a year could reek havoc with any schedule; that is pretty obvious.

But with two of the elite in Carolina and Atlanta, these teams' fans worries should be minimal at most.