If you read the title of this post and thought "Hmmm, that ALMOST sounds like a classic TV sitcom", you'd be exactly right! If you didn't think that I'm afraid the average joke isn't worth explaining. Ok fine, it's a play on Everybody Loves Raymond. Happy? Good. My co-worker and I (Willis) have decided to break up and then break down the NFL. Conveniently there are two of us and two leagues. Perfect right!? Gotta love math. As I mentioned I am a diehard Panthers fan, and since my co-worker fancies himself a Colts fan I shall be tackling the NFC while he makes the AFC his bitch. This will be the first in a series of posts breaking down the four divisions in the NFC. The NFC is stacked this year, so it should be interesting.
Let's start this series off with my personal favorite, the NFC South. All enormous biases aside, I believe this is the third most powerful division in the NFC. That is just a testament to how strong the NFC is. No team has won this division in back to back years EVER since its inception in 2002. This is an up and down division that is hard to predict. However, I believe this year could buck the trend. Let's start at the bottom:
4. Carolina Panthers-This hurts me deeply. I want to believe they will improve (technically they finished third last year even though the bottom three teams all went 7-9....tiebreakers are weird), but they just haven't done enough to convince me. I love Star Lotulelei. I think he is going to be a stud and is going to form a dynamic duo with Charles Johnson. Jon Beason will come back and join Luke Kuechly to create a horrifying linebacker core. But there is the secondary. The horrible secondary that gave up the haunting bomb to the Falcons from their own one yard line to fuel their miraculous comeback. Seriously, I still have nightmares. They will give up a LOT of passing yards. Hopefully a strong defensive line and linebacker core will help, but I'm not convinced it won't be awful. The Panthers ought to have a similar record though. They went 1-7 in games decided by a touchdown or less. That's two or three plays from making the playoffs last year. So why do I have them at the bottom? They didn't improve as much as the other three teams. They didn't add any offensive weapons. It hurts. It realllllly hurts. I hope they surprise me.
3. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers-That Muscle Hamster guy is good. Really good. He was a top five running back while missing two of his best offensive linemen for most of the season. Running backs usually make the most improvement in their second year. It all adds up to a horrifyingly good running year for the Bucs. Oh, they also added that guy who is a proclaimed island. Darrelle Revis joins an already elite secondary, solidifying this defense as the second best D in the division. I think Josh Freeman is the weak link here. He hasn't shown he can put together back to back solid seasons, and I don't think he will this year. He has a nice duo in VJax and Mike Williams to throw to, but I don't think he can make the jump like Matt Ryan. The Bucs will just have to continue enjoying .500 football teams.
2. The New Orleans Saints-No huge acquisitions to mention here on field, yet the entire team is rejoicing. Why? Man are they happy to have their coach back. Sean Payton proved he is irreplaceable without even touching the field last season. He is invaluable. But he isn't the only addition for the coaching staff. Rob Ryan ought to help the worst defense the league has EVER seen. Like ever.....in the entire history. His task may be impossible, but I believe the D will improve, if only marginally. But that should be enough. This offense is too good. Drew Brees is a magician. I think they make the playoffs as a wild card this year going something like 10-6. Look out, Who dat nation is back.
1. The Atlanta Falcons-I hate this team. I really do. But they are really freaking good. This offseason they were supposed to lose Tony Gonzales, and instead they convinced him to come back, got Steven Jackson (a marked improvement on Turner), AND added Osi Umenyiora?!? How?? How did this happen?? It stinks. But apparently my loved Cam will be happy since 14 weeks of the season he cheers for them....ugh. Your division champions ladies and gentlemen.
Now I'm going to go do a mock draft so that I can feel like a winner again. Maybe five mock drafts. Time to try a catch phrase: keep mocking! Decent? No? Ok I'll keep trying.
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