LogFAQs > #903842269

NFC South

1. Anaheim Lightning
2. Atlanta Falcons
3. Carolina Panthers
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

After taking more of a safe route in the AFC, I am going full-on crazy here in the NFC. The Lightning are clearly the least-talented team in the division, but while the other three teams can really only hope for hanging on to their strengths, the Lightning are the only one who can expect and have the personnel in place to improve. Will it be enough to bring them from worst-to-first? Perhaps that is mildly far-fetched, but I am not high on any of the other teams enough to deter me. Like the AFC North, I ultimately won't be surprised on which order the teams end up finishing

After being a perennial under-achiever, QB Eli Manning has become a respectable starter and is coming off his best season. HB Justin Vincent is a new face, but he's only 28, and he has had 1000 yard rushing seasons for every team he's played for. He is no Larry Johnson, whom the Lightning will miss dearly, but with the rise of the WR corps, having a pure runner in Vincent can work out for the better. The biggest difference is the OL with their entire interior slated to have new starters once Claude Terrell returns from injury. I am not high on Terrell, but maybe he is just a player that will have poor stats but have a great, positive impact on the teams he plays for (yes I am being delusional). That defense should be better as well. That DL is high-rated but has underwhelming performances which lead me to believe that they are mostly run defenders. The LB corps includes #3 overall pick Anthony Barr and two veterans studs in Kawika Mitchell and Wesley Woodyard. Where we might see the biggest improvement is the secondary where CB Byron Maxwell and FS Louis Delmas keep getting better and better and they have a new starter at SS in Deone Bucannon. The Lightning have alternated between having Top 10 offenses and defenses for the last four or five seasons, but this is probably their best opportunity for a more balanced squad and an opportunity to win their first division title.

The team with the highest ceiling is probably the Falcons. They had a solid QB in Aaron Rodgers, they have a deep HB and WR corps. Their OL is the best in the division and got stronger and deeper over the offseason. That DL might be the lowest-rated in the division, but a lot of teams would kill for their starting DL to combine for 40 sacks, 5 FFs, and 6 FRs. That LB corps is old but outstanding. The secondary needs a bit of work, but they at least have SS Thomas Davis out there. I considered picking the Panthers ahead of the Falcons, but the Panthers have games against the Rams and Cowboys while the Falcons play the 49ers and Giants and have the better away schedule.

The Panthers are basically the same team as last season. Their only change was OLB David Thornton retiring and being replaced from within by OLB Sean Spence. With such glaring holes at OLB and less than ideal options at RE, #2 CB, and SS, the #3 defense from a season ago will certainly regress but not horribly so. Still, that puts a higher need on an offense that I certainly do not have faith in. QB Matt Ryan is fine if not an great player at the position, but he has regressed each season as a pro statistically. HB Reggie Bush proved me wrong by putting up a career high 1201 rushing yards, but I will need to see him repeat that to believe in him. WR Derek Hagan is not a #1 WR, but the rest of the WR corps is quite good production-wise for their ratings. I do not have many kind things to say about their interior OL, but they at least have the great Marvel Smith at LT and another OT in Andrew Whitworth who had a bounceback season. The offense won't be terrible, but I don't see why I should expect them to improve upon their ranking from last season (20th).They can compete for both the division and the wild card thanks to playing, so they should be in the hunt all season long.
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
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