NFL Preview(NFC South)

NFC South

Tampa Bay(9-7)

It will be close between Tampa,Carolina and New Orleans,but it wont take much to win the division.I went with Tampa because of the standout defense that brings it every game.They have standouts at every level of their defense from Gaines Adams to Derrick Brooks to Ronde Barber to Jermaine Phillips...expect them to hold teams under 20pts(16 last year) for another year.The offense...isnt so standout...Jeff Garcia is a solid option at quarterback,but other than Joey Galloway at receiver,you really cant pencil in anything for anyone else...this is who needs to step up:
-Any running back;Warrick Dunn,Earnest Graham...gotta keep the defense honest..very much needed.
-Anyone not named Joey Galloway;Ike Hillard,Alex Smith,Michael Clayton,Jerramy Stevens...go catch something!

New Orleans(8-8)

The offense will be pretty explosive this year..I may be the one of the few players who thinks Reggie Bush will pan out still...Drew Brees is still undervalued at quarterback(ask the Chargers who they'd want) Marques Colston is a legit monster at WR and Jeremy Shockley is their new horse at tight end...and Shockley is good when he is on the field..take that with a grain of salt because hes always nicked up with something..but he is tough so he should atleast try to get out there.Defensively is the hold up for me here...their defensive line is pretty nice,but other than that..I should legitimately shrug at..no real defensive stoppers...so expect high scoring games,but dont make plays for December.

Carolina(7-9)

This is the team that is always a dark horse.You cant predict anything about them other than unpredictability...I believe everyone(nearly) picked them to make the super bowl not too long ago..and they simply didnt deliver.They kinda have the talent to make it.Steve "Fists of Fury" Smith is the star on that team and its amazing to watch a guy who is 5'8ish get open and take contact..the 2nd receiver is always a question but I think with the additions of DJ Hackett and Muhsin Muhammad(re-addition) and 2nd year player Dwayne Jarrett should provide help on the outside. The running back tandem of DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart will be a force to be reckoned with but the big question mark on offense is QB Jake Delhomme.He had elbow surgery last year and honestly to me wasnt that good of a QB prior...so..alot will depend on him.The defense is another question mark.They have all the talent to be a shut down defense..but somehow they just didnt..it was sad to see talent wasted like that.Julius Peppers is one of the scarest players to be playing against as a quarterback(like I did it or something lol) but yet somehow mustered up a meer 2.5 sacks last year and played 14 games.Who knows.

Falcons(5-11)

Matt Ryan is a rookie...and the starting quarterback...Michael Turner gets from behind LT in San Diego and gets a full load shot...this team isnt good...but I dont expect them to bomb like everyone else...mainly because of the schedule...I think these are winable games
-Detroit
-Kansas City
-Chicago
-Denver
-St Louis

and mix in the unpredictability of Carolina...not bad...too bad no one in Atlanta will see most of these games...regardless I think Ryan is a little further along in his maturity compared to his other rookie QB counterparts and he actually has a target in Roddy White who had an overly quiet 1200 yards last year with a revolving door of QBs. The defense isnt great overall at key positions but I'm sure something can be made of it.I think they're better than New Orleans' defense..for what its worth.