1. New Orleans Saints: 11-5
Defending the title is always harder than winning it.
2. Atlanta Falcons: 10-6
Will their defense step up to the plate?
3. Carolina Panthers: 6-10
John Fox is a lame duck coach with no proven QB.
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 5-11
The growing pains continue for the new regime.

Coaches

Sean Payton – Saints
He has the where with all and the swagger to boot.  Sean Payton is an offensive genius, but also knows what buttons to push and at what time to push them.  The first move of the Sean Payton era was signing Drew Brees to be their franchise quarterback.  After the no-win situation of Hurricane Katrina plaguing the city of New Orleans, the Saints kept an upbeat attitude throughout and that’s thanks in large part to Payton.  In his first year (2006) they were one win away from getting to the Super Bowl.  Last year they struggled down the stretch losing their last three games of the season, but Payton kept the goal of a Super Bowl title at the top of the teams goals.  They responded with one of the best playoff performances of recent memory.

Mike Smith – Falcons
We always focus on the players turning around the franchise, but a large part goes to the head coach.  Mike Smith was a relative unknown when he was hired in 2008.  He was the defensive coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars the previous five seasons.  Before that he spent time with the Baltimore Ravens coaching staff.  He had a pretty good resume and that showed with the turnaround in Atlanta following the Michael Vick debacle.  Smith was fortunate to have Matt Ryan fall to him at number three overall in ’08.  Together the Falcons have had the best two year run in franchise history.  The talent pool is over-flowing in Atlanta and Mike Smith is doing an excellent job at making the most of it.

John Fox – Panthers
No one likes a lame duck coach.  John Fox unfortunately is that coach.  He has the most wins in franchise history (71).  He has coached the Panthers to three playoff appearances.  And one of those playoff appearances resulted in a trip to the Super Bowl.  The first in franchise history.  It’s amazing that two other potential lame duck coaches, Norv Turner of San Diego and Gary Kubiak of Houston both received contract extensions before the season starts.  What do they have that Fox doesn’t as a head coach?  He has a daunting task with no proven quarterback and a suspect defense.  Not to mention that there are two teams ahead of his, talent wise.  It’s a no win situation.

Raheem Morris – Buccaneers
Eyebrows were raised when first year head coach Raheem Morris fired his offensive coordinator just a week before the season began.  Then it happened on the defensive side when his defensive coordinator resigned.  Morris stepped in and took over that department.  There were too many distractions for Morris and his staff that it’s amazing that Tampa Bay even won three games last year.  Morris will still oversee the defense this year and he does have an offensive coordinator in place.  There is a lot of room for improvement in Tampa Bay, but it will have to wait another year. 

Best Acquisition: CB Dunta Robinson – Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta has been struggling to find a great cornerback since they let DeAngelo Hall go.  Not since Ray Buchanan has the Atlanta Falcons had a legitimate threat to match anybody’s number one receiver.  Dunta Robinson they hope fits that mold.  He’s had a good career, but it has been mired with injuries and protests about his contract in Houston.  Whether the Falcons make a strong push into the playoffs will depend on the defense and whether they can compete with the high powered offenses of the NFC.  Mainly their division rival New Orleans.  Robinson will be a big part of that push they hope.

Quarterback – Grade
Saints – A
Falcons – A
Buccaneers – C
Panthers – D

You could make the argument for many players as being the best free agent acquisition since free agency was first implemented.  Every single time you would bring it up, you would have to mention Drew Brees.  No quarterback has done more for a franchise in such a short period of time.  His career was in jeopardy when he tore his shoulder in a playoff game in his last year with San Diego.  The Chargers chose to go with Philip Rivers and let Brees go.  What’s interesting about Brees is that both he and New Orleans wanted one another.  That sums up his outlook on more than football.  In terms of football, he’s right there with Peyton and Brady.
The Falcons struck gold looking back at the 2008 NFL Draft.  Both Miami and St. Louis passed on Matt Ryan and Atlanta gladly chose him third overall.  Miami has a good quarterback and St. Louis has their franchise quarterback now, but do you think they regret passing on Ryan?  He led Atlanta to the playoffs his first year and nearly clinched another playoff berth in ’09.  Ryan has a great running back to take pressure off him and the passing game, but he has shown the intangibles needed to make it in this league.  If he goes down, the offense suffers.
Tampa Bay has their guy in Josh Freeman.  Everyone figured he would sit out his rookie year, but with the constant personnel changes and the eventual benching of Byron Leftwich, the Buccaneers wanted to see what they had with Freeman.  He showed off his tremendous arm strength, but also surprised with his poise under pressure.  He has a slew of young receivers to get acclimated with and the offense hasn’t changed much.  Freeman has rare ability and the hopes of this regime rest with his right arm.
Carolina did not have a first round pick, but managed to draft one of the top quarterbacks in the draft with their second round pick.  Jimmy Clausen fell all the way to the 16th pick in the second round for reasons still unknown, at least in this writer’s eyes.  He will be competing with incumbent Matt Moore who is 6-2 overall as a starter, but that’s a bit over-hyped since the Panthers have a great running back combination.  Moore will probably get the first chance at the job because of his experience in the offense, but Clausen will be motivated and ready to play when called upon.
 
Running Back – Grade
Panthers – A
Falcons – B
Saints – B
Buccaneers – C

When you have two 1,000 yard rushers on your roster, you damn well better get an A.  DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart complement each other very well.  They both mutually don’t care who gets the ball more.  As long as the team wins, that’s all that matters.  You have to love that if you’re John Fox.  Williams is that speed back while Stewart has deceptive speed, but can run it right up the middle for short gains.  You won’t find a better duo than these two.  They keep each other fresh and it helps to have the kind of cohesiveness that Carolina has on the offensive line.
Atlanta’s one shining moment for their turnaround came with the signing of Michael Turner.  He was the change of pace back for LaDainian Tomlinson in San Diego.  The Chargers have missed him ever since.  Turner exploded for a 1,699 yard rushing season in ’08 and would’ve had well over 1,000 yards again had an ankle injury not sidelined him for most of the ’09 season.  Atlanta has good depth behind Turner in Jerious Norwood and Jason Snelling.  However, the Falcons running game isn’t the same without Turner’s deceptive speed.
At first glance it’s true that New Orleans did win their first Super Bowl through the air.  Looking again, they had a great balance in the running game to free up the passing attack.  Reggie Bush is that secret weapon the Saints will more often use as a decoy, but defenses still have to account for him on the field.  Pierre Thomas and Mike Bell were the workhorses in the backfield.  Bell left via free agency to Philadelphia which does leave a hole as far as depth goes, but Thomas is more than capable of handling a bigger load and Bush will be utilized more in packages that take advantage of his breakaway speed.
The Buccaneers got a healthy season out of their former first round pick Cadillac Williams.  Not a career year by any means, but a productive one.  His 3.9 yards per carry were below average, but Cadillac made up for it with his rushing yards (823).  Derrick Ward was a no show for most of the year.  An added workload seemed to be too much for him.  He’ll have to get used to it quickly or he will be looking for a new team.  Earnest Graham is now the fullback, but look for him to get more carries in short yardage situations.

Wide Receiver – Grade
Saints – A
Falcons – A
Panthers – C
Buccaneers – D

The Saints come at you with many different looks and so many weapons for Drew Brees to choose from.  Marques Colston has continued to succeed in New Orleans.  After an injury plagued ’08 season he bounced back to gain over 1,000 yards and nearly had double digit touchdown scores.  Devery Henderson is the other starter opposite Colston.  More of the deep threat, Henderson is streaky at times, but is still a threat to break away from any defensive back in the NFL.  Robert Meachem finally lived up to his first round potential.  His first two years were marred in injuries and inconsistency, he finally gained the trust of both Brees and coach Sean Payton and it resulted in catching 9 touchdown passes.  Jeremy Shockey was exactly what the Saints needed from him and that was a check down option for Brees when the receivers were covered.  Shockey’s backup David Thomas was an even bigger surprise than Meachem.  His blocking was a big help, but he made some key plays for the Saints Super Bowl run.
Atlanta has the receivers to match with any other team in the league.  Roddy White had a career high 11 touchdown catches and a third consecutive 80+ catch 1,100 yard season.  His running mate Michael Jenkins is well adept to the system and is an above average possession receiver.  Tony Gonzalez burst onto the scene and left his mark by finishing second in receptions (83), yards (867) and touchdown catches (6).  The future hall of famer will continue to help Matt Ryan get better as his career progresses.  Brian Finneran is an excellent possession receiver on third downs.  Harry Douglas will be looking to start what was expected to be a big season last year before he went down with a knee injury in training camp.
Carolina has a legitimate number one receiver in Steve Smith.  A quarterback’s delight to have.  His stats have gone down slightly, but he remains one of the best at getting yards after the catch.  After Smith it is full of question marks.  When will Dwayne Jarrett prove his worth as a first round pick?  This undoubtedly is his last chance in Carolina.  Will rookies Brandon LaFell and Armanti Edwards make an impact?  LaFell has big play potential.  Great size and speed, but will he pick up the offense quick enough to play right away.  Edwards will probably be used as a wildcat quarterback.  He was the quarterback at Appalachian State.  The same one who helped beat Michigan at the “Big House.”  Jeff King and Dante Rosario are good pass catching tight ends, but the tight end is used as a blocker more than a receiver in the Carolina offense.
The turnover at this position is amazing.  Two rookies will look to get plenty of playing time.  Second rounder Arrelious Benn and fourth rounder Mike Williams.  Both have break away speed and amazing potential with Josh Freeman as the quarterback.  Kellen Winslow Jr. was the leading receiver by a mile last year.  He will continue to be Freeman’s go-to-guy this upcoming season.  There are a couple of veterans who will look to make into the rotation.  Michael Clayton and Reggie Brown, both highly touted draft picks, are looking for another chance at making the cut.  Clayton had one good year, but that was in his rookie year (’04).  Brown was banged up for most of his career in Philadelphia and this could be his last chance at making an NFL roster.

Defense – Grade
Saints – B
Panthers – C
Falcons – C
Buccaneers – C

By no means were the Saints an elite defense, but they were the best ball-hawking defense in the NFL.  It starts with pressure and they were amongst the best at it by sacking the quarterback 35 times (tied for 13th).  Will Smith led the group with 13.  He will be good for another double digit sack total as long as he stays healthy.  Sedrick Ellis is turning into one of the best tackles in the league with his push up front on both run and pass plays.  Jonathan Vilma was as happy as can be when he was traded from the Jets 3-4 system into the Saints 4-3 base.  That’s his style and it fits him well.  Losing Scott Fujita (Cleveland) to free agency will hurt, but Scott Shanle has been a great coverage linebacker and underrated in stopping the run.  Darren Sharper was another great acquisition last year.  His 9 interceptions was tied for the league lead.   He will probably be out for the first six games due to knee surgery, but he will welcomed with open arms to help capitalize on quarterbacks mistakes.
Yes Carolina won’t have their best defensive player in Julius Peppers who is now with Chicago.  That doesn’t mean the Panthers won’t be able to stop anyone.  The still have Jon Beason as their middle linebacker.  Chris Gamble is still their number one cornerback.  Everette Brown and Charles Johnson will now get a chance to be the pass rushers they were drafted to be.  Both have excellent speed, but do need to work on their moves to better free themselves from blockers.  Beason has Thomas Davis on the outside with him at linebacker.  Both have tremendous speed to the ball carrier whether it’s the pass or run.  Both are great tacklers and finish every play.  Gamble has a good complement in Richard Marshall.  Marshall isn’t as good a tackler as Gamble against the run, but he is very close as far as coverage goes.  John Fox prides himself on making his defense one of the best in the league.  He usually succeeds.
Atlanta has to get better production out of their defense.  If they want to make it past the first round of the playoffs with the offense they have, they have to stop the other teams offense.  It starts up front with John Abraham and Kroy Biermann.  The top two pass rushers have to be near double digit sack totals for the pass defense to be ranked higher than 28th.  Curtis Lofton did a great job taking over the job of former teammate Keith Brooking.  His awareness was more than what the coaching staff expected.  Sean Weatherspoon their first round pick out of Missouri will bring some added speed to the linebacker unit.  He will be a fixture on passing downs.  Dunta Robinson is now the best defensive back on the roster and will have some nice pieces in Atlanta.  Thomas DeCoud and Erik Coleman are great tacklers, but not the best coverage safeties.  All the pieces should come together though with Robinson as the spark the defense needed to shore up the pass defense.
Tampa Bay still runs that famed Tampa 2 defense, but with a few tweaks.  Morris blitzes more than his predecessors.  That tends to leave the secondary exposed which doesn’t bode well for Ronde Barber and Aqib Talib.  Talib is slowly becoming a great cover corner and Barber still excels against the run, but has lost a step in coverage and doesn’t have that speed to catch up to the elite receivers.  Barrett Ruud fits the mold of Brian Urlacher for Tampa Bay.  Constantly in the middle of the action, Ruud has a nose for the football.  Quincy Black will be looked to be the next Derrick Brooks of the Tampa Bay defense.  Up front the Buccaneers invested a lot of money into their first two draft picks.  First rounder Gerald McCoy and second rounder Brian Price will be given the keys to disrupting the quarterback and running backs of the opposing teams.  That’s asking a lot from two rookies defensive tackles, but McCoy was thought of highly by some more than Ndamukong Suh.  McCoy will be the next generation Warren Sapp and Price will be Anthony McFarland.  At least that’s what the coaching staff thinks.