2014 NFC South preview

Andy: I really don’t have any idea what to make of the NFC South this season. Tampa has a new coach, again, and a new QB (well, an old guy, but new to Tampa), again. Carolina let almost all of its WRs go in the off-season, leaving the franchise star with few established targets. Atlanta was terrible last year, but was that because they got old and regressed or because injuries crushed them from the word go?

About the only team with any real continuity heading into the season is New Orleans, where Sean Payton and Drew Brees appear to be ready to lead one of the few teams that could give an NFC West team a challenge in the post-season.

Tony: The NFC South was possibly the most disappointing division last year. The Falcons fell off the face of the earth in one season, and the Bucs turned a promising 2012 into a sideshow that could have been epic proportions, if not for the even bigger cluster going on across state at the time.

The Saints, meanwhile, potentially showed the true value of coaching, rebounding from a Sean Payton-less 7-9 to get back to 11 wins.

The biggest surprise of the year, though, was the Carolina Panthers, who opened with a coach on the hottest of seats, and finished 12-4 with a division crown.

Of course, how do they celebrate the division championship? By letting all of their wide receivers walk out the door, and watching 80 percent of their offensive line retire. Apologists will point out that neither unit was really all that special, and that the defense and Cam Newton were what made the team tick—but can even a division winner bounce back from that much turnover?

Andy: I think the answer you are searching for there is no. I don’t expect the Panthers to win the South again – much of the roster turnover was cap driven, but it doesn’t change the fact that the guys who are gone are gone.

Intriguing to me is Atlanta. Last year was terrible, but a lot of it was injury driven. Julio Jones returns, supposedly relatively unscathed, from foot problems. Tony Gonzalez has retired, but Roddy White theoretically should be recovered from his own collection of injuries. And Harry Douglas proved he can be a weapon in the passing game.

Now whether or not the defense has enough for the Falcons to be competitive is another question, but I suspect Atlanta will score points and again be competitive.

Carolina … should still be pretty decent on defense, but … you’re right about Cam and his collection of mediocre receivers. Tampa … tell me again why people think the Bucs are suddenly going to be good again?

Tony: Lovie Smith? As unimpressive as his overall tenure was in Chicago, he seemed to get more out of the talent than he had than a lot of coaches did. I was a little shocked they decided to put their faith in Josh McCown, given his overall body of work (versus one season playing for Lovie’s successor), but I think they might get a little bit back on track.

More important in my eyes for where the teams end up finishing in this division, I think the Panthers and Falcons regress more than the Buccaneers. We’ve discussed the Panthers some, but outside of getting a couple guys healthy, what did the Falcons actually do to get better? The biggest name they brought in during free agency was Devin Hester, who’s still strong in the return game, but appears to have lost a step.

To fix their offensive line woes, they brought in Jake Matthews and coach Mike Tice, but Matthews can only play one of the five spots that needed upgrading, and Tice hasn’t nearly lived up to his reputation as an offensive line guru since he stopped coaching guys like Randall McDaniel and Matt Birk.

Defensively, any team that is going to apparently rely on rookie Ra’Shede Hageman is playing with fire, in my estimation. This coming from a huge supporter of Hageman’s alma mater (Minnesota), where last year for every Hageman supporter, I could find you two guys wondering why Hageman wasn’t on the field more in key situations. There is a team that I suspect might end up with a coach who is firmly on the hot seat by seasons end.

Regardless of who finishes second, I think they all take a back seat to Drew Brees and the Saints, who win the division and likely the only playoff spot coming out of the south.

Andy: Yeah, I agree with you there. It’s the Saints and everyone else at the end of the day. I’d be surprised if there’s a Wild Card entrant from the South, too.

Predicted order of finish

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Other division previews:

AFC East
AFC North
AFC South
AFC West
NFC East
NFC North
NFC West