2012 NFC South Projections

Atlanta Falcons (10-6)

The
Atlanta Falcons have enjoyed success under head coach Mike Smith. In
Smith’s four seasons, The Falcons have never had a losing record while
they have made the playoffs on three occasions, but they haven’t won a
playoff game for their troubles. The Falcons were dominated by the
eventual Super Bowl Champion New York Giants in last season’s NFC Wild
Card Game 24-2. Now this veteran ball club must go back to the drawing
board and see what they need to do to get over the hump in the playoffs.

Atlanta
is hopeful that wide receiver Julio Jones can take the next step in his
career to propel him to becoming an elite receiver. In Jones’ rookie
campaign in 2011, he had 959 receiving yards to go along with 8
touchdowns. Pro Bowl wide receiver Roddy White was second in The NFL
last season with 100 receptions as he is still Ryan’s main target on
offense. At 36-years of age, All-Pro tight end Tony Gonzalez is still
one of the best in the business especially in the red zone as he has 95
career touchdowns.

Defensively, The Falcons upgraded their
secondary by acquiring cornerback Asante Samuel from The Philadelphia
Eagles to team with cornerback Dunta Robinson in the hopes of shutting
down the high powered offenses of The NFC.

The early part of the
schedule is favorable for The Falcons as they only play one playoff team
from 2011 in The Denver Broncos, but The Falcons know that their fate
will be determined by what they are able to do in January in the
postseason.

New Orleans Saints (9-7)

This will definitely
be an interesting season for The Saints organization. After the fall out
from Bountygate, The Saints will not have the services of head coach
Sean Payton for the entire season while general manager Mickey Loomis
will be sitting out for eight games. The Saints were able to re-sign Pro
Bowl quarterback Drew Brees to a five-year, $100 million extension
after a tough contract dispute. The Saints are also looking at the
possibility of not having three-time Pro Bowl linebacker Jonathan Vilma
for the entire 2012 season after he was suspended by NFL commissioner
Roger Goodell for his alleged role in Bountygate.

Getting back to
normalcy will be tough in The Bayou, but The Saints are accustomed to
dealing with tough times as the city of New Orleans rallied around them
in 2006 following Hurricane Katrina.

The Saints had the top-rated
offense in The NFL last season led by Brees who surpassed Dan Marino’s
single-season record of 5,084 passing yards. The Saints will continue to
have a top offense as long as Brees has players such as Pro-Bowl tight
end Jimmy Graham to throw to, but the question mark has been on defense.
The Saints qualified for the playoffs in the last two seasons and in
the two playoff losses they gave up a combined 73 points.

The
effect of not having Payton and Loomis will hurt as I expect New Orleans
to miss the postseason for the first time since 2008.

Carolina Panthers (8-8)

The
Carolina Panthers took huge strides in year one with quarterback Cam
Newton. Newton is the reigning NFL Offensive Rookie of The Year as he
has tremendous play-making ability. Newton became the first rookie
quarterback in NFL history to throw for over 4,000 yards as he finished
2011 with 4,051 yards. Now it is time to see what he can do for an
encore, but it won’t be easy. Carolina won six games last season and
they are looking to take the next step this season to becoming a
contender. The Panthers rushing offense was third in The NFL last season
as running backs Johnathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams both have the
ability to go over 1,000 yards rushing. Along with Newton and five-time
Pro Bowl wide receiver Steve Smith, Williams and Stewart make a
tremendous fast break offense that makes The Panthers one of the most
exciting teams in football.

Panthers head coach Ron Rivera was a
former NFL linebacker with The Chicago Bears and he knows that defense
still wins games. His Panthers had the 28th ranked defense last year
which included them giving up 30 or more points in nine ballgames last
season. The Panthers drafted linebacker Luke Kuechly in the first round
to team with linebackers Thomas Davis and Jon Beason. The Panthers only
sacked opposing quarterbacks 31 times last season and in a division with
quarterbacks Drew Brees and Matt Ryan it is imperative for them to put
heat on opposing quarterbacks.

The Panthers are taking steps in the right direction, but the playoffs might be a little out of reach for them this season.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-11)

The
Bucs started 2011 with a record of 4-2 and seemed poised to improve off
of their 10-6 finish of 2010, but a 10-game losing streak to finish the
season ultimately cost head coach Raheem Morris his job in Tampa. Now
former Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano is the new head coach in Tampa
and he is charged with getting The Buccaneers to the postseason for the
first time since 2007.

As Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman goes, so
do the fortunes of The Buccaneers. In 2010, Freeman only threw six
interceptions and Tampa won 10 games. Last season, Freeman was picked
off 22 times and it isn’t a surprise that Tampa only won four ballgames.
After a 1,000 rushing yard campaign in his rookie season, running back
LeGarrette Blount took a step back in his second season as he only
finished with 781 rushing yards. Schiano spent his first-round selection
on Boise State running back Doug Martin who finished his collegiate
career with 43 rushing touchdowns.